[00:01.11]The Happy Door
[00:03.40]Happiness is like a pebble
[00:06.91] dropped into a pool to set in motion an ever-widening circle of ripples.
[00:11.72]As Stevenson has said, being happy is a duty.
[00:15.87]There is no exact definition of the word happiness.
[00:18.50]Happy people are happy for all sorts of reasons.
[00:22.33]The key is not wealth or physical well-being,
[00:25.50] since we find beggars, invalids and so-called failures,
[00:29.22] who are extremely happy.
[00:31.40]Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend.
[00:34.58]But staying happy is an accomplishment,
[00:37.20]a triumph of soul and character.
[00:39.61] It is not selfish to strive for it.
[00:42.13]It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and others.
[00:46.50]Being unhappy is like an infectious disease.
[00:50.44]It causes people to shrink away from the sufferer.
[00:53.61] He soon finds himself alone, miserable and embittered.
[00:58.20] There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem,
[01:01.81] at first glance, ridiculous;
[01:03.89]if you don't feel happy, pretend to be! It works.
[01:08.37] Before long you will find that instead of repelling people,
[01:12.09]you attract them. You discover
[01:14.17]how deeply rewarding it is to be the center
[01:17.23]of wider and wider circles of good will.
[01:20.18]Then the make-believe becomes a reality.
[01:23.02]You possess the secret of peace of mind,
[01:25.87] and can forget yourself in being of service to others.
[01:29.26]Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as a habit,
[01:34.73]opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged with grateful friends.
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