Sunday, February 26, 2012

On the nature of happiness.

What makes us happy? The latest Indian-guru inspired movement would have us believe that "happiness makes us happy" and that we have only to laugh and happiness will follow. Something to do with the release of brain chemicals I believe. Well, I am willing to give it a try but there are occasions when the laughter may turn a little hysterical, that said I guess if we dwell on the negative it makes for a very gloomy outlook. Are we born either positive or negative? I believe we are but it is possible to change according to circumstances. What is happiness anyway, is it moments of pleasure dotted through life? Surely we cannot expect to be happy all of the time...wow! this is getting deep.
Anyway hang on to those moments of happiness and remember that a smile is your greatest asset, it will surely make you more friends, either that or they will regard you as a smiling idiot!
Despite their fearsome reputation as  killers I have always loved hippos and they do seem to me to be smiling when they open their comical mouths wide. That is what you would call a big grin!



4 comments:

  1. A gorgeous and witty etegami--sure made me smile! I love your deft and confident brush stroke...have a happy week!

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  2. Do you know there's a book out called 'The Happiness Trap'? Its author says that we are hard-wired to look for trouble and happiness is not actually our natural biological state, yet people think it should be. Thus we are unhappy because we're unhappy. Be that as it may, your hippo is lovely.
    Re ink pads, have you tried making your own with waterproof ink, eg Art Spectrum, on a sponge? Printer's ink is oily and waterproof. You can roll it onto a sheet of glass for use. It is smelly and expensive and dries up fast but it is really fantastic ink. I bought some stamp pads from Typo recently (they have a shop in Melbourne, but I saw them recently elsewhere, so they might have a branch near you) and the ink is fairly waterproof, judging by the mess in my sink.

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    1. Good advice re the stamp ink,I shall try the art spectrum idea, are you stamping or to use a loftier term. printmaking?

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    2. Alas no, I've always admired print making, but it is yet another technique to be mastered. I can't even make a decent stamp yet!

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