SHORT ESSAY, MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD

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By Howard Zinn, Historian, From one his esays.

“An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time. To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, courage and kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

Is There a “Happy” Gene?
Past research has centered on the work of geneticists who assert that we are each born with a happiness set point. This is much like a metabolic set point that predetermines our natural body weight. This theory states that regardless of what we do, or what happens to us, this set point will always take us back to a certain level of subjective well-being. It implies that some of us are just born more cheerful and others of us more pensive. But is that really true?”