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Lighten up Quotes and Quotations
 A light heart lives long.  The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous. Man, unlike the animal, has never learned that the sole purpose of life is to enjoy it. There is no cure for birth or death save to enjoy the interval. Life's better when it's fun. Boy, that's deep, isn't it? When a man is gloomy, everything seems to go wrong; when he is cheerful, everything seems right! - Bible An ounce of cheerfulness is worth a pound of sadness to serve God with. Years back someone said cod liver oil was the cure-all! Cheerfulness is more palliative and with no unpleasant aftertaste. Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind, filling it with a steady and perpetual serenity. The highest wisdom is continual cheerfulness; such a state, like the region above the moon, is always clear and serene. Let us be of good cheer, remembering that misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come. Burdens become light when cheerfully borne. - Ovid A happy woman is one who has no cares at all; a cheerful woman is one who has cares but doesn't let them get her down. Even if we can't be happy we must always be cheerful. Nature intended you to be the fountain-spring of cheerfulness and social life, and not the mountain of despair and melancholy. You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make an earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy. Cheerfulness is contagious, but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier. If God came in and said, "I want you to be happy for the rest of your life," what would you do? True happiness is to understand our duties toward God and man; to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence on the future; not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears, but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is abundantly sufficient. - Seneca Many people think that if they were only in some other place, or had some other job, they would be happy. Well, that is doubtful. So get as much happiness out of what you are doing as you can and don't put off being happy until some future date. You're happiest while you're making the greatest contribution. The happiest and most contented people are those who each day perform to make the best of their abilities. None but those who are happy in themselves can make others so. Do you want a world with . . . more joy and happiness? Then find your own joy and happiness and contribute to the joy and happiness of others. One thing I know; the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. Happiness is a perfume which you cannot pour on someone without getting some on yourself. Remember that happiness is as contagious as gloom. It should be the first duty of those who are happy to let others know of their gladness. Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others. Make people happy and there will not be half the quarreling, or a tenth part of the wickedness there now is. Lead the life that will make you kindly and friendly to everyone about you, and you will be surprised what a happy life you will lead. If you want to be happy, set yourself a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. Happiness is within you. It comes from doing some certain thing into which you can put all your thought and energy. If you want to be happy, get enthusiastic about something. Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. The way to happiness: keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. Try this for a week and you will be surprised. The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions - the little, soon-forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable and genial feeling. A happy life is made up of little things . . . a gift sent, a letter written, a call made, a recommendation given, transportation provided, a cake made, a book lent, a check sent. Do not worry; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to your creditors; keep your digestion good; exercise; go slow and easy. Maybe there are other things your special case requires to make you happy, but my friend, these I reckon will give you a good life. The secret of happiness is this: Let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile. The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does. The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles. The secret of happiness is to count your blessings - not your birthdays. To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. Before strongly desiring anything, we should look carefully into the happiness of its present owner. We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own path, and we will never be happy if we live someone else's idea of life. The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads. We all have 100% to deal with in our lives: 10% is important, 90% unimportant. The secret to a happy, productive life is to deal with the 10% and let the 90% slip. With a little discipline and regular self-checks, you can learn to do one thing at a time. And do it better. And be happier doing it. I've been riding the carousel in Central Park since I was five years old . . . If I'm very depressed or if something's bothering me today, my husband, Larry, and I go back to the park. We get on the carousel horse and we start riding, and I start singing at the top of my lungs. It is pure and absolute joy and happiness. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. Life holds so much, so much to be happy about always. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can be felt only if you don't set any conditions. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. Better to be happy than wise. Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. Your success and happiness lie in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invisible host against difficulties. Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination. When ill luck besets us, to ease the tension we have only to remember that happiness is relative. The next time you are tempted to grumble about what has happened to you, why not pause and be glad that it is no worse than it is? When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. I have found that most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. It is the happiness that comes from within that is lasting and fulfilling. Each person on this planet is inherently, intrinsically capable of attaining "dizzying heights" of happiness and fulfillment. The ingredients of happiness are so simple that they can be counted on one hand. Happiness comes from within, and rests most securely on simple goodness and clear conscience. We are never so happy nor so unhappy as we imagine. You have to believe in happiness, or happiness never comes. It is a man's proper business to seek happiness and avoid misery. The best way to secure future happiness is to be as happy as is rightfully possible today. Why should we refuse the happiness this hour gives us, because some other hour might take it away? At the end of our time on earth, if we have lived fully, we will not be able to say, "I was always happy." Hopefully, we will be able to say, "I have experienced a lifetime of real moments, and many of them were happy moments." Cherish all your happy moments; they make a fine cushion for old age. Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. Happiness and love are just a choice away. Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast. Humor is the healthy way of feeling "distance" between one's self and the problem, a way of standing off and looking at one's problems with perspective. Humor has great power to heal on an emotional level. You can't hold anger, you can't hold fear, you can't hold hurt while you're laughing. Humor enables one to live in the midst of tragic events without becoming a tragic figure. There is no defense against adverse fortune which is so effectual as an habitual sense of humor. Humor is our way of defending ourselves from life's absurdities by thinking absurdly about them. Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. There is always something to chuckle about. Sometimes we see it. Sometimes . . . we don't. Still, the world is filled with humor. It is there when we are happy and it is there to cheer us up when we are not. Joy is the most infallible sign of the Presence of God. Listen to the clues. The next time you feel real joy, stop and think. Pay attention. Because joy is the universe's way of knocking on your mind's door. Hello in there. Is anyone home? Can I leave a message? Yes? Good I The message is that you are happy, and that means that you are in touch with your purpose. Joy of life seems to me to arise from a sense of being where one belongs ... of being foursquare with the life we have chosen. All the discontented people I know are trying sedulously to be something they are not, to do something they cannot do. When we align our thoughts, emotions, and actions with the highest part of ourselves, we are filled with enthusiasm, purpose, and meaning. . . . We are joyously and intimately engaged with our world. This is the experience of authentic power. We have a tendency to obscure the forest of simple joys with the trees of problems. People need joy quite as much as clothing. Some of them need it far more. When large numbers of people share their joy in common, the happiness of each is greater because each adds fuel to the other's flame. Joys divided are increased. You increase your joy by increasing the pure joy of others. Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible. As you express joy, you draw it out of those you meet, creating joyful people and joyful events. The greater the joy you express, the more joy you experience. When we feel joyful, euphoric, happy, we are more open to life, more capable of seeing things clearly and handling daily tensions. If we could learn how to balance rest against effort, calmness against strain, quiet against turmoil, we would assure ourselves of joy in living and psychological health for life. Simplicity, clarity, singleness: these are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy. Joy is not in things; it is in us. Joy is the feeling of grinning on the inside. Joy is the will which labors, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph. It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joy. I believe humans were born to have joy and to have it more abundantly; that the birthright of everyone is loving, caring, sharing, and abundance. Joy is your birthright. Blessed are the joymakers. Although a lot can be learned from adversity, most of the same lessons can be learned through laughter and joy. So when you're lonely or sad or bad or blue remember where laughter's hiding . . . it's hiding inside of YOU! Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. In every job, relationship, or life situation there is inevitably some turbulence. Learn to laugh at it. It is part of what you do and who you are Laughter puts your brain, your central nervous system and your whole being into a state of free play. Laughing deeply is living deeply. It has always seemed to me that hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors. A good belly laugh is like taking your liver for a horseback ride. He laughs best whose laugh lasts. Shared laughter is like throwing open the shutters in a gloomy room and letting in fresh air and sunshine. Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human race. Shared laughter is love made audible. A good laugh helps us recognize how ridiculous it is to get excited about matters that are often trivial. . . . Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart. When we can laugh through our tears, we are being given a powerful message. Things may be bad, but they cannot be all that bad. The child in you, like all children, loves to laugh, to be around people who can laugh at themselves and life. Children instinctively know that the more laughter we have in our lives, the better. Laughter is a gift everyone should open. In the true man there is a child concealed - who wants to play. Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn't taste good. It's good to play, and you must keep in practice. The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play. A little work, a little play, To keep us going - and so, good-day! Every time a man smiles, and much more when he laughs, it adds something to his fragment of life. What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. They are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable. It's easy enough to be pleasant when everything goes like a song, but the man who is worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when everything goes dead wrong. If you have made another person on this earth smile, your life has been worthwhile. Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. It is only through love that we can attain to communion with God. All living knowledge of God rest upon this foundation: that we experience Him in our lives as Will-to-love. One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love. It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble; how hopeless the outlook; how muddled the tangle; how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough you would be the happiest and most powerful being in the world. Love is the master key which opens the gates of happiness. There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. Let no one who loves be called unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow. What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to lovel To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides. Love . . . binds everything together in perfect harmony. - Bible For love ... is the blood of life, the power of reunion in the separated. It is this intangible thing, love in many forms, which enters into every therapeutic relationship. . . . And it is an element which binds and heals, which comforts and restores, which works what we have to call - for now - miracles. This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess. The one thing we can never get enough of is love. And the one thing we never give enough of is love. Love sought is good, but given unsought is better. Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings. The love we give away is the only one we keep. If you would be loved, love and be lovable. The issue is not so much being loved but being loving, which leads to the same wonderful feeling you experience when someone loves you. Everybody forgets the basic thing: people are not going to love you unless you love them. A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world: everyone you meet is your mirror. Nine times out of ten, when you extend your arms to someone, they will step in, because basically they need precisely what you need. Love your enemies because they bring out the best in you. Tolerance and celebration of individual differences is the fire that fuels lasting love. Do not waste time bothering whether you "love" your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. - Bible Love is a force that connects us to every strand of the universe, an unconditional state that characterizes human nature, a form of knowledge that is always there for us if only we can open ourselves to it. When we connect with ourselves in love, we can connect with others and the planet in love. Choose to be a love-finder rather than a faultfinder. If you judge people, you have no time to love them. Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tide and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. Love keeps the cold out better than a cloak. In the coldest February, as in every other month in every other year, the best thing to hold on to in this world is each other. True love always brings joy to ourself and to the one we love. If our love does not bring joy to both of us, it is not true love. True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked. True love is night jasmine, a diamond in darkness, the heartbeat no cardiologist has ever heard. It is the most common of miracles, fashioned of fleecy clouds - a handful of stars tossed into the night sky. The essence of love is kindness. Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here. Love is letting go of fear. Love is much nicer to be in than an automobile accident, a tight girdle, a higher tax bracket, or a holding pattern over Philadelphia. The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them; there ought to be as many for love. Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do can love things that no one else can love . . . We are like violins. We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music. But some emotions don't make a lot of noise. It's hard to hear pride. Caring is real faint - like a heartbeat. And pure love why, some days it's so quiet, you don't even know it's there. Love is not what we become but who we already are. Ultimately, love is self-approval. Love is, above all, the gift of oneself. You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are . . . your simple presence can make others happy. It is not what we do, it is how much love we put in the doing. Forget the resolutions. Forget control and discipline . . . too much work. Instead try experimenting. Go in search of something to fall in love with. . . something about yourself, your career, your spouse. Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life. You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments when you really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. We are most alive when we're in love. In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love. Life is a flower of which love is the honey. No one who has ever brought up a child can doubt for a moment that love is literally the life-giving fluid of human existence. Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough. Not only have I found that when I talk to the little flower or to the little peanut they will give up their secrets, but I have found that when I silently commune with people they give up their secrets also - if you love them enough. A five-word sentence that could change the world tomorrow is "What would love do now?" Do not seek perfection in a changing world. Instead, perfect your love. Every day we are offered new means for learning and growing in love. Spend a moment, every day, thinking of someone to love. Ultimately love is everything. What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork. Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone. 
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