Words of Wisdom

Henry Willey in Arizona introduced me to W. Beran Wolfe, who lived to be only 35 years old, but left a lasting impression with his book, "How to Be Happy Though Human." Here are some quotes:

1. "If you observe a really happy man, you will find him building a boat, writing a symphony, educating his child, growing double dahlias or looking for dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert. He will not be searching for happiness as if it were a collar button that had rolled under the radiator, striving for it as a goal in itself. He will have become aware that he is happy in the course of living life twenty-four crowded hours of each day."

2. “People are unhappy because they look inward instead of outward. They think too much about themselves instead of the things outside themselves. They worry too much about what they lack-about circumstances they cannot change-about things they feel they have or must be before they can lead full and satisfying lives.

"But happiness is not in having or being; it is in doing…Choose a movement that presents a distinct trend toward greater human happiness and align yourself with it. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow men.”

W. Beran Wolfe, 1900-1935
Author and Psychiatrist