Art is like Happiness – we always need new artists, new writers

Let’s look at Happiness first.

Isn’t it funny – even when we know something oh so well, we can still need reminding.

Happiness, for instance. I’ve thought about it, lived it, felt it, joyed in it. Sometimes too, of course, I’ve lost it – but always, thankfully, found it again. And when I was a full time agony aunt and writer, I wrote reams about it, trying to make it easy for others to enjoy happiness too and make it the default setting for their own life.

So yes – I understand a lot about how we can attract it into our lives, our selves – our very way of being.

No surprise then that I much enjoyed listening to another writer, Mo Gawdat, on Saturday Live (BBC Radio 4, 26th January – you can listen on BBC iPlayer) taking up the batton with his book “Solve for Happy: Engineer your Path to Joy”. He sounded so interesting and, despite a terrible tragedy in his life and enduring sorrow, still flies the flag for happiness. And then at the weekend I read about another new book on happiness with the reviewer slating it for being boring and sloppily researched and asking scathily why on earth we need yet another book on happiness or any other already well-covered self-help book.

Why indeed? I thought about it as I too wrote some 10 self-help books, all with the underlying purpose of helping others live happy, fulfilled lives in the main, valiantly surviving hardships and sorrows and despite them still – or at least going on in time – maintaining or regaining our equilibrium, being content, happy and generally living well.

Do we honestly need to keep writing and reading more tomes on well-ness?

And yes - I think we – or at least most of us – do appreciate the ongoing flow of books. Of course we won’t read many of them – but isn’t it fabulous when we come across one that’s like a magnet and proves itself hugely useful and inspiring?

I’ll spare you more of mine though! I’ve written quite enough books and unless I think of something new to write about, have no plans to write more – besides, painting has well and truly taken over my passion and time now.

But other writers’ new books, yes – bring them on!

Most of us know a lot about enjoying happiness and solving or at least dealing positively with problems, helping others, don’t we? But don’t we all occasionally (or if you’re like me, frequently 😊) need reminding of all the wisdom we’ve learned over the years – the tips, ways, strategies and inspirations to keep going – to live our precious, precious days as happily, compassionately, lovingly as we possibly can?

And to the reviewer who shamed the poor author of that other new book on happiness – why bother doing that? Why not, like the Saturday Live team who had Mo Gawdat on, tell us about new books that are good reads and stand to add to our wellbeing and joy in life?

I know I love it when I find a good one and I have the feeling I’m going to thoroughly enjoy Mo’s book.

We all need a little help sometimes however amazingly upbeat and positive we usually are.

I do, for one.

With love and light

Jenny