Author Archives: americathehappyplace

A virus becomes the vaccine.  Doses of uncertainty, hoarding, panic, reality and then ultimately reflection will be the steps of our current events.  With any perceived crisis, the first response is often the Henny Penny cry.  With time, thoughtful reflection will set in soon enough.  The initial reactionary position will be forgotten like the common […]

Out of many, one.  An instructive motto of America.  On March 20, 2020, the UN released its annual World Happiness Report.  According to an article by CNN, the report lists the “happiest” countries based on various criteria that “support well-being.” https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-happiest-country-wellness-2020/index.html. Those criteria are: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.  Interestingly, note […]

The unknown does not a crisis make.  Thoughts create crises.  Despite the belief of people who claim to be smarter than any one of us, people simply do not know everything.  What follows then is that people do not have all of the answers to every perceived problem that arises.  It is thinking that people […]

The Webster’s Dictionary definition of happy is “favored by luck or fortune.”  Really?  Is that what any person thinks of when someone asks, “Are you happy” or “Do you consider yourself a happy person.”  Is the answer, “Oh yeah, I am really lucky.”  At the risk of taking a giant leap here, the answer is […]

Are you living a top or bottom shelf life?  The best wine or booze is usually on the top shelf and so are the best carnival prizes, unless they are so huge they stand alone.  You probably have some pretty good childhood memories at the carnival or fair.  Most of us have those memories so […]

We have all heard the phrase, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” especially Godfather trilogy fans.  There may be contexts in which that practice is justified, but it’s really a stupid concept.  Instead, show the highest level of gratitude for those closest to you and take action to make them happier each day. […]

Newborns and young children are experts at seeking their own happiness and it is a beautiful thing.  Later though, changes are thrust upon kids during the formative “middle school years.”  Culturally, there are the bar mitzvahs, sweet sixteens, or other celebrations that act as an artificial gateway to adulthood.  Presumably, the recognition of this period […]

A recurrent theme in America is that there is great division and we are bordering on “chaos” or destruction by civil war.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In reality, the only real division between people is the happy versus the unhappy.  The happy pursue their happiness by choice.  The unhappy choose not to […]

How many times have you heard about “The American Experiment?”  The phrase is used as if America is merely another test case for humankind.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Rather, America is the result of centuries of experimentation.  An experiment starts with a hypothesis, it is tested over and over, and a theory […]

“Forget about life as we know it and go with life as we think it.  You become what you think about.” KPF reflecting on age old wisdom