“Happiness [is] only real when shared.”
It is said that the last words of Christopher McCandless, the man at the center of Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild and it has become something of a proverb. But how does one share happiness?
According to experts, it could be through a smile.
“The smile is an invitation for the people around you to join in this feeling,” explains Jesse Prinz, professor of philosophy and director of the Committee for Interdisciplinary Science Studies at the City University of New York, Graduate Center.
And sure, it’s not hard to force a smile — you can easily fake one at this very moment. But does faking it actually put you in a happy mood? Liev Schreiber, who claims to be “the least qualified person in the world” to discuss happiness, says “faking it” on stage — whether through smiles or tears, is not applicable to him as an actor. “Any emotional hint I might need … is present between the relationship between me and the audience.”
Learn more about the science of the smile, happiness and emotions in the video above.
Experience these fascinating conversations LIVE at the Rubin Museum in New York. Visit www.rmanyc.org/programs. The 50th ticket buyer referred from Huffington Post GPS for the Soul receives a free catalogue Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion.
GPS Guides are our way of showing you what has relieved others’ stress in the hopes that you will be able to identify solutions that work for you. We all have de-stressing “secret weapons” that we pull out in times of tension or anxiety, whether they be photos that relax us or make us smile, songs that bring us back to our heart, quotes or poems that create a feeling of harmony, or meditative exercises that help us find a sense of silence and calm. We encourage you to look at the GPS Guide below, visit our other GPS Guides here, and share with us your own personal tips for finding peace, balance and tranquility.
Poetry has a magical way of simplifying complicated and seemingly indescribable emotions into comprehensible beauty. While there is poetry appropriate for every age, the best lessons may come from the lines intended for children. With stanzas that make us laugh and reflect, Shel Silverstein wrote for kids — and the kid inside all of us. Click through the slideshow below for words of comfort and inspiration that will remind you of the simplest life lessons.
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In video gone viral for all the right reasons, bystanders cheer firefighters from Engine 5 in Rochester, N.Y., as they administer CPR on a 58-year-old man on Sept. 12. Known only as “Artie,” the man had crashed his truck into a utility poll after an apparent heart attack.
Luckily, the accident happened across the street from the fire house.
The entreaties of the crowd as the rescuers work feverishly to save Artie will restore your faith in humanity. They shout for Artie to hang on while urging on the efforts of Engine 5’s John Joseph, Rich Boskow, Chris Courtney and their captain, Scott Joerger.
“When they started cheering on Engine 5 and encouraging us it was really surprising, but humbling to know the neighborhood has so much confidence in us,” Joseph told The Huffington Post. “None of us had ever heard a crowd cheer like that, especially knowing who Engine 5 is.”
Then comes the chill-inducing moment when an onlooker notices that Artie’s color has returned. “There was a lot of good energy that day and we had an awesome outcome,” Joseph added.
As Right This Minute noted in the video above, Artie pulled through and later visited the fire house.
Joseph told HuffPost that he and his colleagues were grateful for the appreciation but a little embarrassed by the attention.
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The Spirit Sparked Magazine, Boise, Idaho 