"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Let’s talk about moods and attitudes. Unless you have a chemical imbalance, they are pretty much in

your control. After puberty, anything less than a neutral mood is unprofessional, immature and certainly not any fun for those around you, so look for the sunshine and blow those black clouds away!

 

Pardon the quick, however, relevant transition. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox is one of my all-time favorite poets. Probably this generation needs to be introduced to her. She is the one who wrote “Solitude” a much quoted poem by past generations.

Ella spent time with the troops in Europe during WW1, encouraging and uplifting them with her poetry.

Here is:

                                                                                Solitude       

Laugh and the world laughs with you;

Weep, and you weep alone

For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,

But has trouble enough of its own.

Sing, and the hills will answer;

Sigh, and its lost in the air,

The echoes bound to a joyful sound,

But shrink from voicing care.

Rejoice, and men will seek you;

Grieve, and they turn and go.

They want full measure of all your pleasure,

But they do not need your woe.

Be glad, and your friends are many;

Be sad, and you lose them all-

There are none to decline your nectar’d wine,

But alone you must drink life’s gall

Feast, and your halls are crowded

Fast, and the world goes by.

Succeed and give, and it helps you live,

But no man can help you die.

There is room in the halls of pleasure

For a large and lordly train,

But one by one we must all file on

Through the narrow aisles of pain.

When I started, I wanted to choose something uplifting, then I realized that this is merely a dose of reality.

Reality is good. I’ll try to uplift you next time...or not.

G’Day,

Raintree