HAPPINESS AS A ROLE VS. TRUE HAPPINESS
HAPPINESS AS A ROLE VS. TRUE HAPPINESS Following is from the book of A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. HAPPINESS AS A ROLE VS. TRUE HAPPINESS “How are you?” “Just great. Couldn’t be better.” True or false? In many cases, happiness is a role people play, and behind the smiling façade, there is a great deal of pain. Depression, breakdowns, and overreactions are common when unhappiness is covered up behind a smiling exterior and brilliant white teeth, when there is denial, sometimes even to one’s self, that there is much unhappiness. “Just fine” is a role the ego plays more commonly in America than in certain other countries where being and looking miserable is almost the norm and therefore more socially acceptable. It is probably an exaggeration, but I am told that in the capital of one Nordic country you run the risk of being arrested for drunken behavior if you smile at strangers in the street. If there is unhappiness in you, first you need to acknowledge that it is there. But don’t ...