In reading the New York Times tonight, I ran across an article entitled " Strangers may cheer you up". The first line in the article written by Pam Belluck turned me off a bit. is says," How happy you are may depend on how happy friends' friends' friends are, even if you don't know them all. My comment to that is, first of all I feel no one can create happiness for you unless you let them. I feel one should be in control of themselves and not so dependent on others to make them happy whether it is purposely done or nonchalantly. Even if in the article it states that happiness is more contagious than previously thought. We are or suppose to be in control of ourselves. When we rely on others to create happiness or whatever in our lives as I see it, they can control us. The article goes on to mention the fact that cheery neighbors can have more affect on us than our spouses mood. I dont know how many will read this and who are married or have been married but a spouses mood can do wonders or blunders in a home. Your neighbor many not have an effect on you if you spouse is in a rotten mood. I have experienced that situation.
Acoording to Belluck, Happiness can depend on people choicesand action and not your own. i dont know whether to agree with this. i feel in some aspects this could be true. If someone lost a love one we can realte to that, even if you have been through that yet. We all understand as adults that death is not easy and can have a huge affect on us.
There were questions raised by a study done by Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a physician and social scientist at Harvard Medical school. In his study that he had done from 1983- 2003 proved people become happy because of their social contacts or some unrelated reason. Several who reviewed the study stated their were limitations. One point that was brought up as I stated earlier that a spouses happiness has more influence on an individual than a neighbors. I do agree with the point that was made, stating that " people take emotional ques from same gender". I feel men do understand men better as women understand women better. I only say this because we as men and women do think, act, and say things differently in most situations. The book has been written entitled Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. We will never understand fully the oppsite gender. We can only appreciate them deeply. And I must include this thought, not taking away from the previous thought I just made. A friend, neighbor could be overjoyed for getting a big raise, whereas the friend's, neighbor could be jealous and not show happiness. So I end this with asking, can starangers happiness truly cheer us up?.
Comments (1)
I, too, read this article, and, yes, I wholeheartedly believe in this theory. I think happiness is contagious.
Peace out.