The Happiness Project

For those you who, like me, suffer from frequent bouts of melancholy, who sometimes have difficulty finding purpose, and who generally feel unhappy more often than you feel content, I encourage you to read Gretchen Rubin's recently launched blog, "The Happiness Project", which is being hosted by the kind folks at Slate. (I say that with slight reservations as Christopher Hitchens, the perpetual curmudgeon, is a frequent Slate contributor). And for those of you who, like me, are skeptical of anything that reeks of neo-self-help-individualism and/or just dislike sappy titles like "The Happiness Project", I'd still urge to you give her first post a read, where she lays out her reasoning behind such a project. "Some people think that wanting to be happier is a selfish, self-absorbed goal — but I disagree..." she writes. "Research shows that happy people are more altruistic, more productive, more helpful, more likeable, more creative, more resilient, more interested in the problems of others, friendlier, and healthier. Happy people make better friends, colleagues, and citizens."

(photo by David Shrigley)


(another photo by Shrigley)