by MAB (bio)
So says
Garrison Keillor of the Prairie Home Companion radio show. Maybe, like other things in life, if you get too much happiness you become unbalanced. In my experience with lessons at church it seems we occasionally claim that life is easy if you are LDS with a clear plan of happiness and an iron rod to hold on to. But in other lessons we extol the virtue of overcoming trials that are an essential part of life, and maybe as peculiar people we have more than our fair share. Sometimes we preach that God blesses his faithful children, other times we preach that where much is given, much is required - including challenges that may not be fun to overcome. Is it just me or do we have a dichotomous view on happiness and how often we should expect it?
Regardless, I enjoyed Garrison's light hearted take on the subject of happiness in an episode of Lake Wobegon that I recently listened to.
Here are a few lines from the episode:
"Misery makes us happy."
"They (Garrison's relatives) were very happy in Pasadena. They talked about this when they came back. And happiness made them tedious, as it always does."
"Happiness is narcissistic essentially, isn't it. It's sort of infantile."
"Happiness makes you unhappy ... in the end."
But as a general rule you shouldn't
read Garrison Keillor, you should listen to the masterful story teller.
The player below should skip to the Lake Wobegon segment at 81:35 when you click the play button.
First time listening to Garrison? You're welcome.
