International Day of Goofiness

Neither of these two poses are genuine which brings me to my point: you shouldn't fake happiness or sadness and you can't designate a Global Day of Happiness without causing heated, worldwide debate about its merit, meaning or lack thereof, even if your intent was simply to inspire people to act.

I know a few things about happiness because that is my usual state of mind. Nothing so overwhelmingly crappy has ever happened to me that couldn't be fixed, overcome, ignored or dealt with. Yet. Even when I complain and feel disgusted about things, I never forget that I really don't have anything to complain about. I also know that when I walk around with a sad face, it brings other people down with me and that makes me feel worse.

My interpretation of International Day of Happiness is that for this day and every day, the small things that you do for others or how you make them feel is how you would most likely spread cheer and happiness, even in yourself. People love being loved and cared about. They love laughing and being believed in. If they are suffering with pain, hunger or sadness and it's within your capability to help then you ought to do something, anything to increase their happiness.

For the starving, homeless, persecuted and desperate masses in the world, mere concern, a smile and a hug would do diddly squat, so give to a charity that you know makes a difference, start a charity if you have time and energy and want to do more than simply living your life and focusing on the happiness of those whose lives you can and do affect every day.

You don't need a special day for either and if you wait for politicians to change the world you could be waiting a while.