Calvin is giving us a masterclass in the philosophy of happiness.
Kurt Vonnegut explained it another way when he said that whenever we find ourselves in a moment of happiness, however fleeting, we should stop and say out loud “If this isn’t nice, I don’t what is”. Acknowledge it. Acknowledge that you know nice. I’ve tried it and it’s very satisfying. He said this in a couple of his books, and in speeches he gave. Here’s a quote from one of his essays:
And now I want to tell you about my late Uncle Alex. He was my father’s kid brother, a childless graduate of Harvard who was an honest life insurance salesman in Indianapolis. He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy. So when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”So I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”
Calvin is giving us a masterclass in the philosophy of happiness.
Kurt Vonnegut explained it another way when he said that whenever we find ourselves in a moment of happiness, however fleeting, we should stop and say out loud “If this isn’t nice, I don’t what is”. Acknowledge it. Acknowledge that you know nice. I’ve tried it and it’s very satisfying. He said this in a couple of his books, and in speeches he gave. Here’s a quote from one of his essays:
And now I want to tell you about my late Uncle Alex. He was my father’s kid brother, a childless graduate of Harvard who was an honest life insurance salesman in Indianapolis. He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy. So when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”So I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”