One of my most important takeaways to date from Martin Seligman's book, Flourishing* is the idea that while everyone probably has a baseline level of happiness from which they rise or fall in the normal progress of Life Things, that baseline is not the same for everyone. Some people are more naturally perky and bubbly about life in general, others ( Read more... )

"Hope and faith are different. Whereas faith is self-affirming and acceptance of life as it is, hope involves a dissatisfaction with self and present circumstance, and is dependent upon external events or people to provide change. People hope that life will be different, or better, or fuller; their hoping involves a lack of acceptance and a thrust ( Read more... )

and it's not because i've got some east indian goddess fetish, either. ( pausing for some introspection )