Garrison Keillor and happiness

[xiphias]

A month or two ago, I heard or read SOMETHING, I can't remember where or by who, which pointed out that Garrison Keillor's tagline on his five-minute daily program "Writer's Almanac" was a pretty good summary of how to maintain happiness in life.

At the end of each show, Keillor says, "Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®" Yes, it's trademarked. It's also psychologically and philosophically profound.

"Be well.” If you’re sick, in pain, in danger, in dire need, you can’t maintain happiness. The first thing we need for happiness is some level of basic health and safety.

“Do good work.” We need to be active in something that is meaningful. If we’re fortunate, the thing that we do to make money may also be a thing that we find meaningful in a larger sense. If not, then we can use the money that we make to support us, and do our meaningful work outside of those hours.

That work could be raising a family, being a good neighbor, working for social justice, working for government, medicine, creating art -- music, books, jewelry, to name three of the forms of art represented on my friends list, building communities, running science fiction conventions or LARPs, inventing and engineering, working for environmental causes -- anything that you feel is meaningful, because it makes the world a better place, creates enjoyment for people, or is just plain worthwhile in and of itself.

“And keep in touch.” We are social animals. Some of us more so than others -- some of us need a lot of people around us at all times, some of us only need human contact in more limited, controlled doses. Some of us need face-to-face personal contact with people, some of us are happy interacting through telephone, or email, or LJ.

But very few of us need no human contact.

Whatever work we do is within the context of a society. And we need to be recognized, and appreciated, and praised for the work we do. There are some people who are okay with knowing that they’ve done good work without external validation. But most of us need to hear it from other people.

So, in general, if you’re finding yourself unhappy, and not sure why, that might be something to consider: which area is weak: “being well”, “doing good work”, or “keeping in touch”?

Comments

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

A nice analysis! That could be a very nice mantra, indeed.

It stands in contrast to Bob & Ray, who ended each show with, "Remember to hang by your thumbs, and write if you get work." Slightly different meaning, there. ;)

[cbpotts.livejournal.com]

This is very nice -- for all the times I've heard GK say that, I never really thought about it. But you parsed it out beautifully.

[sarianna.livejournal.com]

I like this. A lot. Thank you for posting. Things to remember.

[redbird]

The thing, or a thing, is that they connect in several ways. Right now, I am well, I am doing good work, and I am keeping in touch. And part of that last is that I am very worried right now about a friend's health; it's not only our own health and safety that matter to happiness.

[tylik.livejournal.com]

I like that.

And I'm working very hard on the be well bit, though that's pretty clearly the weak point.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Actually, I disagree pretty strongly with item number one.

"Be well.” If you’re sick, in pain, in danger, in dire need, you can’t maintain happiness.

If I believed that, I might as well walk off a cliff. I live with chronic pain and chronic illness, and have done so most of my life. You've met me in person and seen me on-line a lot; I think I'm usually happy and often very happy.

I think I may have to write a serious rant about this. Because I think the notion that ill health is a bar to a happy life is pernicious and debilitating.

I like you, though. My rant's not gonna be about you. It's gonna be about some unthinking assumptions.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*contemplates*

(And yeah, I know. I owe you a couple of replies. :)

[navrins]

That'd be "all of the above" for me.

Thanks for the food for thought.

[dianavilliers.livejournal.com]

I'm muddling along fair to middling on the first two, doing good useful stuff even if I'm not sure that its the right work for me in the long run. Keeping in touch - there's where I fall down. I let people slip away far too easily.

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

Interesting. This resonates exactly with an article in the local free rag (shock! horror!) or at least I can match three of their points to three of GK's (and possibly the difference in the "be well"-type point is interesting too, given your discussion with elisem:


1. Take things lightly: don't lose your sense of humour in difficult times
2. Take good care: The better you feel the more you will be able to take care of others and to accomplish goals
3. Enjoy the present: Excessively planning/worrying won't do you any good
4. Invest in relationships: Make an effort to meet people and to relate to the people you meet
5. Be true to yourself: Follow your own heart and do what is good for your soul


(The article is about Peter Dielesen, of www.aazaa.com. I haven't looked at the web page, and have no opinion about what he actually does.)