Joy Toy

When did being unhappy become fashionable?

I shouldn’t phrase it like that because it becomes too easy to answer. We look at magazine archives for when smiling faces became gaunt and scowly, write down the date and you go away. Don’t go away.

Let me try again, when did it become uncool to be happy?

We act like a smile is a target, or a sign of unintelligence. We don’t advertise a good mood because someone might take advantage of it or kill it.

Think about it, if you happen to be smiling at something in public, and a stranger catches your eye, what do you do? I bet you don’t keep smiling. That wouldn’t be cool, and you’re a cool dude.

Don’t tell me about all the bad things in the world. Yes, there is tragedy and catastrophe. There’s also triumph and exhilaration. There’s stuff you need and don’t have. There’s stuff you want now, and may have someday. Hopefully you’ll still want it when you get it.

But there’s your life right now, and it’s what you’ve got. Somewhere in there, there’s at least a speck of joy.

You’ve heard of joy.

No, not that decaying bottle of perfume in your grandma’s bathroom. Joy is when you feel good without having been medicated to do so. Joy is happy. Joy is fun.

Aha! Gotcha. You like fun. Let’s start there.

Fun is good. (Baby steps.) Fun makes you happy. Therefore, it’s good to be happy.

See? That wasn’t so hard. Don’t go away yet.

It’s okay to smile. It’s okay to laugh. It’s okay to feel good just because you feel good.

When you were a kid, you had a favorite toy. Whatever it was, you probably have something right now that makes you as happy as that toy made you back then. When you figure out what it is, go ahead and smile about it.

No one’s looking.