Everyone has probably wondered what happiness and joy are made of. Likewise, what brings us to affirm life, sometimes against all odds. Fortunately, we have our daily little pleasures, our achievements and successes to push us forward. Our families, friends and loved ones may support us, but there is also a compelling inner force, our life instinct, that keeps us going. Furthermore, we live from our memories of the beautiful and sublime and of the all good times we had. As a rule, they distinguish themselves more than the not so good things that have happened to us. Thus we have reason to be grateful because all these factors contribute to our happiness and satisfaction. The weather is also a decisive element, whether we feel good or bad and promotes our joie de vivre. (We are experiencing a golden autumn this year, at least in the part of Europe where our goodnews are at home.) Ultimately, however, our attitude counts the most. So let us remain positive!
Confidently Yours
Susanne G. Seiler
Sonnet 73
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
William Shakespeare