Black dog was a sickness, they told him. The previous year he had been worried enough by symptoms of physical illness to visit his doctor and had come away with a series of warnings and prohibitions concerning diet, alcohol, tobacco—the usual nonsense. But paradoxically his efforts to comply had led him inexorably to ask himself why he was bothering; what was so bloody marvellous about this life he was trying to preserve. Such metaphysical speculations were entirely foreign to his make-up and their formulation now was light years from being precise and intellectual. It was just a feeling of hollowness at the centre, a reluctance to awaken from the safe blackness of sleep, a sense of life like a hair floating on dirty bath water, sinking imperceptibly, moment by moment, till a final, spinning gurgling rush carried it away.
-Reginald Hill, An April Shroud
It's over, man. Let her go Irony of Persistence
Art of Living & Grieving: Thanks for the Memories People need to be needed: Who willed the latest Irony of My Life?
As the Opera House celebrates it birthday, a certain 21st anniversary has moved into the realm of the absurd
As the song says, Summertime, and the living is 'easy... ," but for many, it is not. Some people are unhappy in their marriages - their mates are "not fulfilling their needs. Others are upset with their children, their parents, their bosses or their co-workers. Many are unhappy with themselves because of failure, or problems they can't seem to overcome. Yet we are not a culture of automatons, driven only by logic and reason. We have an emotional side that's every bit as important, and this is why so many institutions are failing. We are spiritual beings on a human journey. That, and our unrelenting curiosity, is what gives us hope for the future ...
Happy are those who know what sorrow means... Happy are those who claim nothing... Happy are those who are hungry and thirsty for true goodness...Happy are those who have suffered persecution for the cause of goodness
• The world is still getting stranger... [No matter how great and destructive your problems may seem now, remember, you've probably only seen the tip of them Keeping It Simple On Health, Wealth and Happiness ; It hurts to admit when you make mistakes - but when they're big enough, the pain only lasts a second Doctor, cancer survivor pens book on 'living with happiness' ]
• · It is difficult to overestimate the influence of the paperback upon the twentieth century - A Revolution in Reading: 1935–1960 I dutifully read The Catcher in the Rye as a teenager, with no sense whatsoever of the irony involved in dutifully reading a novel about the dangers of being thoughtlessly dutiful The Paperback Revolution ; For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Odds are you're one of them Reader says: I'm halfway through your book. It's gut-wrenching ...; In the battle between you and the world, bet on the world. Are we happy yet?
• · · If you're not a part of the solution, there's good money to be made in prolonging the problem: Because our brain evolved during a time of ice, flood, and famine...the way the brain works is looking for what's wrong Are we born to be blue? ; Hunting for happiness? Go with the flow
• · · · When birds fly in the right formation, they need only exert half the effort. Even in nature, teamwork results in collective laziness Self-denial is a key to finding happiness ; No single raindrop believes it is to blame for the flood. Thanks for the memories
• · · · · When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other Reflective Happiness ; The only consistent feature in all of your dissatisfying relationships is you: The key to happiness is to be found not in wealth, sex or sunshine but in concentration. The human brain is stimulated in the most fulfilling way when it is focused on something specific, although often the feeling of happiness is experienced after, rather than during, an intense period of concentration Therapy, equality, eye candy
• · · · · · There is no greater joy than soaring high on the wings of your dreams, except maybe the joy of watching a dreamer who has nowhere to land but in the ocean of reality Don't deny children the right to happiness ; Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea. Understanding the art of happiness
