假裝的快樂 The Happy Door
米爾德裏德·克拉姆/Mildred Cram
Happiness is like a pebble dropped into a pool to set in motion an ever-widening circle of ripples. As Stevenson has said, being happy is a duty.
There is no exact definition of the word-happiness. Happy people are happy for all sorts of reasons. The key is not wealth or physical well-being, since we find beggars, invalids and so-called failures, who are extremely happy.
Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend. But staying happy is an accomplishment, a triumph of soul and character. It is not selfish to strive for it. It is, indeed, a duty to us and others.
Being unhappy is like an infectious disease;it causes people to shrink away from the sufferer. He soon finds himself alone, miserable and embittered. There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, at first glance, ridiculous:If you don't feel happy, pretend to be!
It works. Before long you will find that instead of repelling people, you attract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be the center of wider and wider circles of good will.
Then the make-believe becomes a reality. You possess the secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of service to others.
Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as a habit, opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged with grateful friends.
快樂就像一枚鵝卵石突然掉入池塘中，激起一圈又一圈的漣漪，並不斷向外圍擴散。正如史蒂文森說的，快樂是一種責任。
快樂沒有確切的定義。快樂的理由成千上萬，而關鍵並不在於財富或健康。因為我們發現，乞丐、殘疾人和所謂的失敗者也能過得無比快樂。
快樂會有一種意想不到的收獲，而保持快樂的心境是一種成就，是靈魂和性格的升華。事實上，追求快樂並非自私的表現，而是對自己和他人的一種責任。