Happiness is Contageous

Yesterday while driving I heard on the radio the Christmas Waltz. One line of the lyrics say,

"It's that time of year
when the world falls in love..."

That sounds so romantic and I dreamed of all the warm feelings I've experienced at Christmastime through the years. Lyrics to a similar song say: "It's the hap-, happiest season of all."

Yet it is also one of the most stressful times of the year. For example, as of today there are six shopping days left till Christmas. How many presents do you still need to buy? There's some stress for you.

And unfortunately stress leads to a lack of patience, which leads to short a temper, which can lead to telling someone off who doesn't really deserve it. And that results in making all parties involved angry. Too bad for this "happiest season of all."

I think if we can step back for a moment and try to understand what's happening it will help. I came across this book that is actually written for parents and their teenagers, but much of its wisdom applies to us all. They Do Grow Up: Parents and Teens Talk by Patricia M. Robertson (Liguori Publications). It's an interesting approach to a book because for each topic, Mrs. Robertson gives a reflection directed toward her kids, then her teenagers respond with their own reflection on the same topic. Makes for an interesting dialogue in which we get to see both sides of the issue.

Many of the topics are applicable to all relationships, not just parents and their teens. For example, one chapter is titled, "Winter Chill." It talks about those times when people within a family are not speaking to one another, and no one really knows why. Often, instead of confronting the problem or issue, we just blame it on the season and hope it will pass in time. Sometimes it does, but often it only gets worse, alienating people from each other.

Here is a segment of the final paragraph to that chapter. I am adding (parentheses) to widen the application for all our relationships.

Many things cause teenage (our) anger. Yet, there are many things that make them (others) happy. Usually, the anger shows more than the happiness. This is common. Our newspapers tell us bad news and hide the good news. This leads people to be angry, young and old alike. In fact, there are lots of things quite similar, I'm sure, in your life that makes you angry. Happiness is contagious, so is anger. Remember that, the next time you remark on your teenager's (someone else's) mood.

It's also the cold and flu season. If you're going to be contagious, let it be your happiness, not your anger or physical ailments, that get passed on to others.