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Names I Use

To avoid any confusion I thought it appropriate to list the names (cyber) I go by.
My Names:
Mel Kaye-(my real name), MondayMorningPower,
MMP, Killeris-(Technorati name), Powerkis-(Wordpress name), SiFiBiBi-(Original Blogger name)
Site Names:
Attitude, The Ultimate Power-(Blog name)
MondayMorningPower-(Blog AKA)
It's All About Attitude-(Blog AKA)

My email address: info (at) MondayMorningPower dot Com

Why read Monday Morning Power?

You will find a consistency and a focus in all of my content that can change your attitude which can fuel a positive change in your life, if you want it to. If you are happy with your attitude and your life and see no reason for changing, then you either already have a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude), or you are a victim and want to hold onto your misery. These postings will then serve to fortify the person with PMA, or, hopefully, convince the "victim" that there is a better way. This site will contain essays, poems, stories, humor and links, all with the same goal: The pursuit, capture, care and feeding of a Positive Mental Attitude. I have had readers tell me that they have spent hours on my site and feel great about themselves both during and after. I log onto my own site frequently to help fuel my attitude; I hope you will as well.

To My Fellow Bloggers.....

Please feel free to link my blog to yours. A dose of "Monday Morning Power" would bolster any blog, except for those that profess doom, destruction and the end of the world. If you want to use any of my content in your blog, please ask first via email or by comment. I will need to review your blog for appropriate content and then give you written permission as well as being sure that you link back.

Monday Morning Power

A dose of "Monday Morning Power" and a cup of coffee and you're ready for whatever awaits you. At a minimum you should read this blog on Monday Mornings. However, there will be new posts daily. Whenever you want to feel good, tune in and help yourself to some "Monday Morning Power." Please share this site with everyone you care about. I welcome your comments and suggestions

About Me

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My goal is to help my clients navigate the “residential investment property” market; make some money and have some fun in the process. This real estate market is ripe for the investor. In addition, I would like to help the home buyer and home seller. I am part of an 80,000+ agent network that spans all of North America. Being on the “inside” I can find you the “right” agent to handle your specific needs no matter where in North America you may reside. I have been in and arround the real estate market for most of my professional life and want to be your resource for making money in this market. I have been negotiating all of my life and want to negotiate great deals for you. Following is my contact information and my philosophies: Mel Kaye (Broker Associate) Keller Williams Realty Direct: PCH.MEL.KAYE (724.635.5293) Mobile: 805.300.1769 Fax: 888.371.1190 Email: YESmelYES@gmail.com Website: http://melkaye.com Skype: Mel.Kaye Lic #: 00742678 340 N. Westlake Blvd., Suite 100 Westlake Village, CA 91362


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This Site is dedicated to the development of your ATTITUDE, which is your ULTIMATE POWER. The content includes: Essays, Articles, Poems, Links, Inspirational stories, Quotes, Research, Music, an original series called the "Process" and Laughter....all focused on the
Pursuit, Capture, Care and Feeding of a Positive Mental Attitude.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Happiness Is a Moral Obligation

One of the people that I admire, in regards to his clarity and stance on happiness, is Dennis Prager. He is a conservative talk show host. I do not agree with much of his political or social ideology, but my site is not for either political or social debate. There are many sites that take care of that very well. My site is dedicated to the pursuit, capture, care and feeding of a positive mental attitude. Happiness fits dead center!

This particular essay was written on Townhall.com. As both a writer and an aggregater of essays on Attitude, this one is a natural to reprint.

Happiness Is a Moral Obligation

By Dennis Prager

For much of my life, I, like most people, regarded the pursuit of happiness as largely a selfish pursuit. One of the great revelations of middle age has been that happiness, far from being only a selfish pursuit, is a moral demand.

When we think of character traits we rightly think of honesty, integrity, moral courage, and acts of altruism. Few people include happiness in any list of character traits or moral achievements. But happiness is both.

Happiness -- or at least acting happy, or at the very least not inflicting one's unhappiness on others -- is no less important in making the world better than any other human trait.

With some exceptions, happy people make the world better and unhappy people make it worse. This is true on the personal (micro) and global (macro) planes.

On the micro plane:

Consider the effects of an unhappy parent on a child. Ask people raised by an unhappy parent if that unhappiness hurt them.

Consider the effects of an unhappy spouse on a marriage.

Consider the effects of unhappy children on their parents. I know a couple that has four middle-aged children of whom three are truly extraordinary people, inordinately well adjusted and decent. The fourth child has been unhappy most of his life and has been a never-ending source of pain to the parents. That one child's unhappiness has always overshadowed the joy that the parents experience from the other three children. Hence the saying that one is no happier than one's least happy child.

Consider the effects of a brooding co-worker on your and your fellow workers' morale -- not to mention the huge difference between working for a happy or a moody employer.

We should regard bad moods as we do offensive body odor. Just as we shower each day so as not to inflict our body odors on others, so we should monitor our bad moods so as not to inflict them on others. We shower partly for ourselves and partly out of obligation to others. The same should hold true vis a vis moods; and just as we avoid those who do not do something about their body odor we should avoid whenever possible those who do nothing about their bad moods.

The flip side of the damage unhappy people do when they subject others to their unhappiness is the good that people do when they are, or at least act, happy. Just think of how much more you want to help people when you are in particularly happy mood and you realize how much more good the happy are likely to do.

On the macro plane, the case for the relationship between happiness and goodness is as apparent.

It is safe to say that the happiest Germans were not those who joined the Nazi Party. Nor did the happiest Europeans become Communists. And happy Muslims are not generally among those who extol death. The motto of Hamas and other Islamic groups engaged in terror, "We love death as much as [Americans, Jews] love life," does not appeal to happy Muslims.

Cults, hysteria and mass movements all appeal to the unhappy far more than to the happy. It is one more example of the genius of America's Founders to include "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" in the Declaration of Independence. No other major civilization so enshrined happiness as a core value. This American belief in the moral and societal merit in pursuing happiness is a major reason America has developed differently than Europe. The American emphasis on happiness is one reason no fanatical political or religious movement, Left or Right, has been able to succeed in America as such movements have repeatedly succeeded in Europe.

The pursuit of happiness is not the pursuit of pleasure. The pursuit of pleasure is hedonism, and hedonists are not happy because the intensity and amount of pleasure must constantly be increased in order for hedonism to work. Pleasure for the hedonist is a drug.

But the pursuit of happiness is noble. It benefits everyone around the individual pursuing it, and it benefits humanity. And that is why happiness is a moral obligation.

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10 comments:

Sandee said...

I have linked my site to yours. You will find your link in my Link Exchange under Attitude, The Ultimate Power. If you would rather have Monday Morning Power let me know. You will find your link in the middle side bar about half way down the page. Thanks for asking for a link exchange. Link love is a good thing. Oh, I just love Ann to pieces. Have a great day. :)

aniceplaceinthesun.blogspot.com said...

I love this post! Great job! And I love Sandee to pieces too!~

You are already spreading happiness throughout the blogosphere! And Sandee already is too! Try an visit her site and see if you don't leave laughing! Keep up the good work!

Between the two of you I'm having a happy day! You will both keep me alive longer! :)


Ann :))

DubLiMan said...

Ann & Sandee,

I am very pleased that we all found each other! I love you both!

Sandee said...

Now that I have finished numerous tags I thought I would come back and have a read. I so hope you are right about us not following the radical movements that have succeeded in Europe. I so worry about being so politically correct that we may find ourselves there. I do agree with your assessment of happiness. Have a great evening. :)

Karen said...

wow, you've got a lot of stuff in the side bar. I can't find the bit that links to other people anymore, but just in case it's still around, www.acnemed.info is in its terminal stages, I can't remember if you added that as a link, and I was wondering if you'd pop by http://lonelysurfer.wordpress.com to see if you like it and would consider swopping links ?

walkinonsunshine said...

Thank you for your nice comment. :) It always helps to get encouragement from others. You've got a wonderful website. One of my favorites.

Max Coutinho said...

Hey Mel!

Interesting....very interesting! It seems like you read my thoughts, man!!! Check out my latest post "re-define altruism"!

About this wonderful post:
Any moral pursuit is selfish! Moral is a law, that if respected can lead you to Good (which gives us a sense of well-being; we like to think that we're good, that we do good deeds - that way we shall be respected)!
If seeking happiness is a moral demand, than you are right: it is selfish! But it is a positive selfishness, cause if you're happy, people around you are happy, and everything is fine!

Children raised by unhappy parents become psychopaths! They do odd things as little kids; it's frightening!!!
Fortunately, I was raised by extremely happy parents! My mom actually is the only Portuguese woman who states "I am absolutely happy", and we do the same as a result of our up-bringing! Portuguese people are miserable, and are proud of saying that happiness doesn't exist, there are only happy moments (what an absurd thing to say!).

I loved this part:
"We should regard bad moods as we do offensive body odor. Just as we shower" - my family does that; for real!!
Funny: one can pursuit hedonism and still feel unhappy! One can have all the pleasure in the world, however it doesn't constitute a guarantee of happiness!

Cheers

DubLiMan said...

Max,

You know what they say about great minds!

Anonymous said...

The pursuit of happiness means different things to people. Some individuals believe happiness is an experience that arises from the pursuit of some goal, during the journey perhaps moreso than achieving the thing itself. Its a sense of direction that drives.

Think of the rabbit who goes after the carrot that dangles from the fishing pole. That rabbit keeps his eyes on the prize. He is motivated and even exhilarated by the prospect of getting what he wants. Happiness may well be reinforced by getting the carrot. Yet the desire may also arise to set up another fishing pole. At first glance, this may strike you as a case of "never enough" syndrome, yet maybe there's more to it than meets the eye. Do we have a moral obligation to ourselves to be happy just being happy doing nothing and distancing ourselves from certain cultural images? Bottom line is we each must find our own way.

DubLiMan said...

Liara,
I believe that the moral obligation is to both ourselves and society as a whole. I also think that we should widen the gap in comparing happiness to "never enough." Happiness should never be based on "more."