Perhaps this baby simply isn’t aware that he has no good reason to be happy. Doesn’t he know that the middle class has been hollowed out or that another war could be on the horizon?
It may be that he’s not been informed that social security may not be solvent when he’s eligible to receive the benefits.
Is this baby ignorant of global warming?
Why is he smiling?
Does he have a good reason?
If you’re like me, you were once able to be Happy For No Good Reason. This was conditioned out of you by society, your peers and perhaps by well-meaning caregivers.
You were told:
“Money doesn’t grow on trees”. “You can’t trust people.”
“Work sucks and that’s why it’s called work.” “Life’s a bitch and then you die.”
“You’re not good enough.” “Stop dreaming and grow up.”
…And you learned that you must have a good reason to be happy.
You are eligible to be happy if you get a nice new job or a nice new car. You can be happy if you’re promoted at work. You can be happy if you win the lottery.
This works well for our economy as it keeps people striving for more. If I want to be happy, I must work harder to earn enough money to buy a bigger house.
- Adults smile about 20 times per day. Children smile about 400 times per day -
When I received news one day about my white blood cell count from a doctor’s office and expressed joy, I was told that I didn’t understand. I was reminded that my count was still abnormally high.
“I said, I know, isn’t it great!”
She said I didn’t understand and on we went with our verbal Ping Pong match until we parted ways.
She seemed very unsatisfied by the call.
When people die and then are revived, they try and describe a state of ineffable joy. They don’t talk about lottery winnings or new cars or Botox injections to remove wrinkles.
Maybe they’ve remembered that it’s OK to be Happy For No Good Reason.