How To Be Happy (from the archive)

Is your glass is always half empty?  Maybe you should get a smaller glass.  If life’s worries weigh heavily on your shoulders try standing on your head and remember, you’re not alone.

Yesterday I was feeling low. I’d just been turned down for the part of Jabba the Hut in our village play. I felt crushed.  It was my last chance to break into showbiz and I’d spent all my savings on 300 tins of lard to make the outfit as convincing as possible. But the Director explained that Jabba doesn’t appear in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Now I was unemployed, broke and covered in lard.

When I’m a bit down I find a movie really cheers me up. I was really down, so I went for the movie marathon: I started with Schindler’s List, moved on to Das Boot, and ended with Downfall.  By the end of it I had forgotten all about my petty worries and had completely eliminated any lingering desire to join the German armed forces (which has to be a good thing).