On Being Happy 30


I feel full of energy and – strangely – youth at the moment. The last two nights I did extremely good public meetings with the Global Justice Group in Halesowen

http://www.myspace.com/halesowengjg

and for Medical Justice in Manchester.

http://www.medicaljustice.org.uk/

They were vibrant and full meetings – the collection for Medical Justice afterwards raised over three hundred pounds for their Manchester branch. One of the things cheering me up is that I took a look through my engagements and realised I have raised tens of thousands for good causes at meetings over the last five years. It relieves the fear that my life has been wasted.

But what really cheers me up is the fact that there are so many good, informed and active people out there. I really must do more of this.


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30 thoughts on “On Being Happy

  • duppyconqueror

    we are all of us, in our own judgement, pretty crap Craig. But you stand out as a man of principle with a good heart. Admirable qualities that no amount of money can buy.

  • Abe Rene

    Go for it. I hope you get your family in favour of human rights activism as well.

  • Paul Johnston

    Wish you had put up something (more visable?) that you were in Manchester I would have loved to come along!

    Nice weather here eh?

  • craig

    paul

    I was pretty surprised to be sitting outdoors without a jacket having a glass of wine at 11pm!

  • Paul Johnston

    Just hoping it stays fine for the cricket at Old Trafford on Sunday. Fat chance 😉

  • Mark Golding - Children of Iraq

    I have signed the petition:

    Stop the Administrative Detention of Children and Families.

    thanks Craig

    Strangely help and happiness comes from the most obscure places, this from Poland yesterday:

    Dear Sir,

    We are organizations who help Iraqi children. We are open for cooperation and it will be great honor for us if you could think about such possibility. I am sending you presentation about our works and documents that we are legal organization. If you have any question or cooperation with us is possible please contact with me: Cell . 011 964 7901331977

    [email protected]

    Yours sincerely,

    Samer Al-Bassam Head of League

  • Mark Golding - Children of Iraq

    I have signed the petition:

    Stop the Administrative Detention of Children and Families.

    thanks Craig

    Strangely help and happiness comes from the most obscure places, this from Poland yesterday:

    Dear Sir,

    We are organizations who help Iraqi children. We are open for cooperation and it will be great honor for us if you could think about such possibility. I am sending you presentation about our works and documents that we are legal organization. If you have any question or cooperation with us is possible please contact with me: Cell . 011 964 7901331977

    [email protected]

    Yours sincerely,

    Samer Al-Bassam Head of League

  • Mark Golding - Children of Iraq

    I have signed the petition:

    Stop the Administrative Detention of Children and Families.

    thanks Craig

    Strangely help and happiness comes from the most obscure places, this from Poland yesterday:

    Dear Sir,

    We are organizations who help Iraqi children. We are open for cooperation and it will be great honor for us if you could think about such possibility. I am sending you presentation about our works and documents that we are legal organization. If you have any question or cooperation with us is possible please contact with me: Cell . 011 964 7901331977

    [email protected]

    Yours sincerely,

    Samer Al-Bassam Head of League

  • Ishmael

    Somewhere in the midst of the lunatics…there are good people. It takes time to meet them.

  • Larry from St. Louis

    No, Ishmael, there really aren’t good people here. Just a bunch of Jew haters. Most of the commenters here believe that the U.S. government did 911.

  • technicolour

    Very glad about that, Craig. And inspiring, like Mark’s addition. It sometimes feels crazy not to be in denial, but these kind of posts help tilt the spectrum toward positive action, cheers.

  • D Grierson

    Mr Murray,

    I would never align myself on the side of ‘the good’

    I am not particularly ‘active’ ( save for the odd boycott of certain goods, and the very rare database profile the polis helped themselves to in 2005 )

    However, I do believe in Justice ( I’m a dreamer, I know ) and know how to laugh at the Trolls on your site ( Jew-hater? How dare Larry? I don’t hate any particular caste, religion, sect, whatever )

    I’ve lurked your site for months and value it dearly.

    Keep up the good work!

  • Parky

    It seems Larry’s medication has worn off, and i’m afraid we’re stuck with him again ’till his carers notice and put a stop to his nocturnal emissions on this site.

  • Abe Rene

    Larry from St Louis: you should not use an anti-semitic expression like “Jew”. The correct expression is “Jewish person”; you should not lose sight of tha fact that they are human beings.

  • glenn

    D Grierson: You should post more often, we need a stronger element of sanity to counter the tea-bagging irritants.

    Since you’ve lurked here for a while, you’ve probably realised that the St. Loonys think Israel not being in the World Cup is an anti-semite conspiracy. If you don’t give Israel a couple of goals head start, allow them to declare the goal-posts as being wherever they say they are, allow them to respond to a tackle with machine guns and the American ref to see fouls only coming from the opposition, then you’re an anti-semite.

  • glenn

    On being happy… I’m just coming to the end of the most remarkable book I’ve read in quite some time, “The Art of Happiness – a handbook for living”, by HH Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler. Cutler is a

    psychiatrist, and writes this book based on a lengthy series of talks over an extended period with the Dalai Lama.

    With perhaps unintended dark humour, Cutler writes that his profession had pretty much come to the conclusion that the best one could hope for was ‘the transformation of hysteric misery into common unhappiness’. So it was quite a surprise to him to hear of a methodology which would achieve actual, authentic, medicinally unaided happiness. The Dalai Lama believes it is possible to be genuinely happy, most of the time. The philosophies described make one realise that, with practice and determined effort, one can actually make strides in that direction, at no cost to others.

    On the contrary, the Dalai Lama explains that is it not a selfish act to strive for happiness. He’s not talking about ignorance, mindless bliss – but on the contrary, great awareness.

    Who helps out others more, feels more inclined to be charitable, spreads warm feelings and encourages happiness in others – someone miserable all the time, or a person with genuine joy in their heart?

    Even more interesting, perhaps, is how he views those who would be an enemy. Those that try to tick you off are actually doing you a favour, he explains, by giving you the opportunity to practice tolerance. And consciously formulating positive thoughts are an antidote to negative emotions. A horribly trivial summary, but I would recommend that it’s worth a read – as a life philosophy I cannot fault it.

    “The art of happiness”… money-back guarantee, I asked my local bookshop owner? It earned me a hollow guffaw in return. Perhaps she should read it too.

  • Rim Bana

    That Larry from St Louis seems to be a very disturbed and unpleasant individual.

    You just don’t meet people like that in real life.

    Even the most drunk and mentally ill people you meet in real life have a humanity you can relate to.

    Larry has none of this. There’s no life there. Even Spock couldn’t detect life on planet Larry.

    It’s just like very weird. It can’t be real. There’s no humanity there. Nothing. Not even a sausage. This Larry isn’t a real person at all. It’s like some CGI or animatrix.

    Are all Zionists like this?

    It would explain how they murder and slaughter innocent women and children without any conscience whatsoever.

    Oh yeah. And keep being happy Craig. Most people are of the human hugging, loving, singing. underdog supporting, bully hating, occasionally flawed. humanity loving gene, same as you.

    It’s the others I’m worried about.

  • Larry from St. Louis

    Craig Murray,

    Back to the original post – how pathetic that you go fishing for compliments from nutjob anti-Semitic 911 conspiracy nuts.

    Is it all unraveling for you?

  • Suhayl Saadi

    Psychological warfare, intensifying, a sign that truth is troubling to power. No, activists will remain upbeat. The fight is long, but we are strong. Good, Craig, be happy and thrive. Peace and love to everyone.

  • Suhayl Saadi

    How odd: 418am in Missouri. Time is elastic, a wondrous thing. As a cohort, nightshift workers are thought to have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and mental illness, though the evidence-base remains somewhat thin.

    Nonetheless, whatever turns one on.

  • Larry from St. Louis

    “Psychological warfare, intensifying”

    Nope, just me.

    Did you yet figure out who I am? I gave you enough clues, after your questions.

  • Larry from St. Louis

    “The fight is long, but we are strong. Good, Craig, be happy and thrive. Peace and love to everyone.”

    Suhayl, you’re a Muslim. Do you believe that women should have the same rights as men? How do you deal with the fact that you’ll be hanged if you believe in equality.

  • Larry from St. Louis

    “How odd: 418am in Missouri.”

    Yes, my girlfriend will be pissed off in the morning. Alternatively, I’m a Jewish operative.

    Only someone like you would be so stupid to believe that I’m a Jewish operative.

    By the way, your attempts to flourish in your writing at this site are pathetic.

  • Suhayl Saadi

    Ishmael, please try not to become embroiled with such posters. That’s their aim. Happiness is the subject of this thread. Happiness that one might be doing something of deep humanity which one believes in. It is an aim many of us would have – though often we fail.

  • Abe Rene

    This Larry from St Louis sounds like a most unhappy person. Why attack Suhayl’s writing talent? I find the idea of someone being both a medical doctor and a published writer quite impressive myself. There are such very gifted people in the world, who can do more than one thing to professional standards in very different areas. I imagine Craig is another, and I once read about a young woman who was both a surgeon and a professional dancer who worked for the helicopter emergency medical service. Amazingly accomplished people we have in the world sometimes! A lot more than yours truly, it must be said.

  • ingo

    Happiness is to feel part of what surrounds you, to be content and sustainably engaged between horizons.

    It means being an interested part of a whole, regardless of where it is.

    I wish all of you health and happiness, including Larry, we must understand the troubles he has with 911, boyfriends and growing up.

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