Happ 135 Feb 28, 2012. Part 2 With Professor Crazy



I am so smart!



Welcom back to the class taught by the greatest and latest genius mind in our mortal existance; ME!  Are you all ready to learn?!  I trust you all stayed out of trouble this weekend.  Since almost all of you are in class I assume you had a safe time partying.  I know you are all probably wanting to fall asleep.  Know that if you do, you are not missing much, just THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS part 2! 

So, last week, before we were so rudely interupted by that silly class bell, we had covered 2 of the 5 secrets to having a happy life.  Today, we will be talking about the last 3 secrets to a happy life.  Hey put that cell phone down!  Modern media must not distract us from the secrets to being happy!

So what do we have?

1- Gratitude: Yes, very important

2- An adventure- I am so excited for... !

3-

(Pause for dramatic effect)

The ability to LAUGH.  That is right.  How often do we as humans take things too seriously?  How often do we create excess stress?  How often do we take things too far?  The ability to laugh at one's self and to laugh at things that happen, as opposed to getting offended, is something that will bring us an added measure of happiness and appreciation for every day of our lives.  Now then, this does NOT justify any filthy, foul, fiendish pranking or practical joking that others could easily be offended at.  Neither does it justify disrespect to wonderful and brilliant college professors (such as myself).  I do not want to find out that some of you who are listening to or reading this, have decided to use the ability to laugh as a way to insult other people.  That is NOT what it means.  It is the ability to accept one's accidents, find the humor in our lives, and strive to enjoy that humor.  This will yield a higher appreciation and gratitude for every day we wake up alive.

Number 4- Family.  You heard me correct!  What good is our life on earth in which we spend every day being surrounded by fellow beings, if we are not able to enjoy each other's company?  I am sure that many of you can agree with me that some of the happiest times you have had in your life have been in the company of good family or friends.  There is a reason we have families people!  God didn't give us families for the simple task of raising more hooligans for the world population!  Those hooligans will most likely stay out of (serious) trouble when raised in a home where they feel safe, loved, and have been taught to have respect for those who raise them.  Life IS better with families and NO,  I don't want to debate it!

And now the moment you have all been waiting for.

Number 5-

A knowledge of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and what He has done for all of us.  For much of our existance here, life will NOT he huckleberries and ice cream or any other kind of fruit with dairy.  We will all have hard times.  That is part of the deal.  That is what we all signed up for when coming to this earth.  Sometimes, life feels like sheer despair.  We cannot really help this.  We will all feel these kinds of feelings.  And we will all have challenges that are unique to us individually, so we will not be able to fully comprehend what somebody else is feeling.  However, there is somebody who does know how we feel, because He felt that same way at one point in time.  Only by having faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and doing all the things that He has asked us to do, can we truly find full and complete happiness.  He is the only reason why our life does not end when we close our eyes.  I make this promise to all of you; if you turn to him, He can rescue you when you find yourself sinking into the raging seas of life's problems. 

Well my dear friends, our time is already up.



Albert Einstein



Hopefully you have learned something from this class here today.  If you haven't, it's your own fault and you should go to sleep earlier tonight! 

Please keep in mind that all of the theories discussed during this class came from my own scrambled head.  They will, hopefully, bring added joy and happiness to your daily lives.  I am still testing them out!

Class is dismissed. 

Go ski down a mountain!

Happ 135. Feb 21, 2012. With Professor Crazy

Okay class!  It is time to begin.  Today, we will be discussing, THE SECRET TO LIFE'S HAPPINESS!  This is important, so keep your hands to yourself, quit throwing garbage and PAY ATTENTION!

-Note: the professor reserves the right to claim the following theories as applicable to himself and are not guaranteed to work with everybody, but they are a pretty good outline.

    Okay, so, happiness.  The most sought-after thing in the history of our degrading existance down here as specks of dust on the earth.  People strive for this all their lives.  Some pass on without obtaining it.  And to many, it has different meanings.  Take a moment and ask yourself this question; "what does happiness mean to me?" I know some of you are probably thinking family and friends, maybe sports, maybe peace.  I also know that some others of you are thinking "anything but attending this class" right now.  Don't think that though because you will have plenty of time to think that in Chem 105. 

Doesn't that just look fun?!

    Alright. Have you decided what your happiness is?  If not, please continue to do so.  Maybe you will be enlightened during this seminar.  Since this is a religious (Latter-Day Saint) seminar, we will call happiness a variety of things.  Sometimes it may be referred to as Zion or other similar terms you may have heard.  Just keep up.  If you don't like any terms like that, or the fact that this IS a denominational seminar instead of non-denominational one, well,     TOUGH!  Either get over it and grow a harder neck, or leave a complaint with whatever governmental agency would shut me down.  You can choose what terms to and not to use when YOU write a seminar. 

    So, in your eyes, what does happiness, or Zion, look like?  You may have met people that you feel have achieved this state of being.  Do you wonder what their secret is?  You may wish you were in their shoes so that you could feel that happiness.  Or, you may be thinking of what would make you happy.  You may wish for the things that you feel would make you happy, because for some reasons, they seem to be "unachievable."  Or so you think.  Well, what if I told you that, to be in their shoes, or to have those things you want, though they may be pleasing and fun, will most likely NOT bring you happiness.  What now?  Those people are different from you, and those things, are just that, things.  What are you going to do now?

    Don't get me wrong.  There are a few things I would be very pleased to own!  If you happen to have an extra 2011 KTM 350 XC-F ithat you need to be rid of, I will gladly take it off your hands!  I would have a lot of fun on that machine.  But, is fun the same thing as happiness?

    Do you want the secret to happiness?  I can list it right here right now.

1- Grattitude.  That's right.  How come the most poverty-stricken people in the world seem to be the most happy?  It is because they are grateful for the things they have.  We all need to work on this trait.  No wonder there is an article in the Ensign every month about grattitude! 

2- An adventure.  If we don't have anything to look forward to, what is the point in moving forward/  Now, this doesn't mean we go chase after Indiana Jones on a broken mine-cart track through the temple of doom.  This can be as simple as going to a doughnut shop.  For some of you it may be skiing with your family.  For others, as strange and sad as it sounds, it may be moving to the next level on Angry Birds or something like that.  What makes you smile?  If it is genuine and good, it must be GOOD!  So seek after those things.

3-

(RRIIIINNNNNNGGG!)

Well, sorry to keep you in suspense!  Looks like the rest will have to wait til next week!.

Have a nice day.

Every little thing is gonna be alright

It is very common for people to become more stressed than is necessary.  I am guilty of that too.  When things don't go exactly as planned, we tend to lose our minds.  We let so much traffic go through our brains that we soon get a headache.  Too much stress sometimes causes depression.  Sounds like the "good-ol' college years" doesn't it?

Today, I am going to write about somebody that I have a LOT of respect for.  Who many people see as a pot-headed no-good Jamaican bum, and who others see as one of the music industry's greatest genius', Robert (Bob) Nesta Marley, 1945-1981.  I don't admire Bab Marley for his morals or fame, but I admire Bob Marley for his relationship with God.  Setting the "Rasta" culture aside, Bob has immense faith in God and a trust that, in the end, "every little thing is gonna be alright." 

One of the ways I see this is through his music.  Bob's music just has a way to slow the brain's RPM from the red line to the green line.  And something that I also look up to is that when he writes and performs his music, it is in a way of giving to us.  As all good people do, Bob Marley had opposition in his life.  In 1976, two days before he was supposed to perform, he was shot.  Injured but alive, he was on that stage performing his record, Smile Jamaica.  His reasoning was "The people who are trying to make this world worse aren't taking a day off.  How can I?"

In this crazy crazy CRAZY world down here, there is plenty of opposition.  These events either lead people to or away from God.  Sometimes, people go so far as suicide.  We all have this stuff, and we all get stressed out once in a while.  I'm sure even Bob was stressed.  What we need to watch for is that we don't get too stressed.  We cannot let ourselves shut down because things are going wrong. 

Here's a good solution.  When you're working on a problem and just can't get it to work, listen to some Bob Marley, go outside, look at all the things that God has created for us and enjoy them for a little bit.  Whether it be food, the outdoors, or just chillin', make sure you get your brain to slow down.  Then go back and try the problem again.  That works for me most of the time.