Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Pat Jordan: The Man, The Myth, The Legend Or "What You Say About His Company Is What You Say About Society"

One way to be happy is to take joy in the small things.  The best paragraph ever written about this is from Pat Jordan's A Nice Tuesday: A Memoir:

"He could have let that disappointment overwhelm him, make him bitter or, even worse, self-pitying. But he never did. He never found an excuse to be unhappy. My uncle was a happy man because he knew happiness was not a given. It was not something deserved. It was something to be worked at, created out of any little thing at hand. My uncle was a master at finding joy and wonder in life's minutest details that the rest of us so often overlook in our pursuit of grander pleasures. Like that toast. It was the most perfect buttered toast I have ever had."

So, I am happy that I most of my dishes are washed.  I am happy that I have woke up at 6:05AM for two straight months.  I am happy that I have not driven to campus once this semester.  (I lost my parking passes, but I could have bought new ones for $2 a piece.)   I am happy that I have sent birthday cards to most of the females in my family for the past year.  I am happy that the campus store has peanuts 2 for $1.    

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