The Sentinel, Hope, Happiness and Sugar 201220

The Sentinel All the news that's fit to print and some that's not.
Hope No matter how you slice it, if you want a happy life, you must have hope. A person who loses hope hits rock bottom in short order. That is when his/her life becomes one drop of misery after another until the flood gate opens and he/she drowns metaphorically. I’ve been close more than once, so I do have an idea of how dark things can seem to be.	Happiness I believe that everyone wants to be happy and those who are not happy like to spread their sour misery around like butter on toast. We Americans unfortunately live in a materialistic society. I have been wrapped up in that materialism mode during my lifetime. I bought new cars that I could not afford, a motorcycle, televisions, stereos, computers, homes. I was following the crowd, the unhappy crowd. The more a person wants, the unhappier they become. I’ve been with poor people who were happy and rich people who never were happy. The fact is: happiness comes from within, not from without. I can say right now that I have far less than I had before and yet during the last five years I am more satisfied and happier than before. When I had a lot of money and possessions I had far too much to worry about losing. I would go to work every day and worry that someone would break into my home and take all my stuff. Now I don’t have anything to worry about losing, except for the woman I have loved for the last 56 years. That would break my heart.	Sugar I know that eating grain is part of a good diet. I discovered that even oatmeal is good if I put enough sugar with it. Sugar on oatmeal to improve it is a metaphor for life. If one adds a little sugar into someone else's life every day, one will find his/her own life is improved and he/she has more spice in his/her own life. That qualifies as a win-win situation and there is no cost to either person. My favorite quote from Elwood P Dowd is. “In this life you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.”