Coffee with Niles

I have long enjoyed the old sit-com Frasier.

My favorite episode is called "Coffee with Niles."  Check it out it sometime on Netflix.  I believe you will enjoy it for the comedic banter between these two brothers as well as the central question posed in the episode.

Frasier and Niles ask one another: Are you happy?

Are you happy?

Well, are you?  Yes, you.

Over the past several years there has been considerable study of happiness.  Harvard researchers even tracked graduates from the Classes of 1938-40 for 75 years.   That study found that love is the key to a happy life; that regardless of how we begin life, we can all become happier; and, that challenges (and the perspective they give us) can make us happier.

No real surprise there.

I am also intrigued by evidence that suggests that once we acquire what we need we don't necessarily get happier through the acquisition of more of what we want, such as money or material possessions.  Fascinating.  I guess "keeping up with the Joneses" really is a drag.

For some reason this doesn't surprise me either.

Well, I guess I will choose to be happy today.  I'm gonna try to linger a little longer on those little, positive moments.  I'm gonna smile at ten people I don't know.  And I'm gonna find a way to practice compassion before I turn out my office light later this evening.

Then, when I get home, I'm going to watch "Coffee with Niles" on Netflix.

I'm gonna do that because it makes me happy.

And 30 minutes of happiness should be recognized and celebrated.

When You Know, Go!

 



My friend Bobby has been a minister for over 50 years and he is a really good dispenser of advice.  It seems like every time I see him he greets me with a smile and gives me a valuable nugget to consider.  (I guess there's one thing old age provides that the young can't get with money or through books.  Wisdom.)

Bobby has a really important guiding principle: "When you know, Go!"

To a funeral.

To see a sick friend.

When a friend just needs a friend.

To an important event with your child or spouse.

When you know someone is suffering.

Don't over-think it.  Don't over-analyze.  Don't fret over what to wear or what to bring.  Don't worry about what to say.  It really doesn't matter.  What matters is that you are there.

"When you know, Go!"