GRRR.....THAT DAMN MONK!

Remember the book 'Happiness' I told you about? Yeah, the one written by the Buddist Monk. Well, I've been reading (or should I say suffering) though it for the past 3 nights.

I thought when you became a monk, you gave up everything? Not so, our friend kept his academic ways when he joined the monastry. When he decided to share his knowledge of happiness, he hid the damn secrets so deep in a pile of written meanderings that it strained my poor brain to the point of exhaustion!

I awoke this morning thinking about how difficult his book was to read and it reminded me of some past experiences.

First, there was the time I signed up for an Intermediate Photography course at our local college. After the first three classes I had learned or should I say I heard lots about how film was made and the history of photography. They still hadn't told me where the power button was.

Another time the same college offered a 'Beginners course in accoustic guitar'. I've always thought it would be cool to play the guitar for the ladies so I signed up again. Four classes later, I still hadn't touched a guitar.....I quit!

So now I'm thinking that if they offered me choice of free admission to Harvard University or to 'Coles Notes University', well you know which one I would choose?

Back to this happiness topic, wouldn't it be great if the only teachers who were hired were happy people. Happy teachers wouldn't torture us with boring lectures about stuff we don't need to know. They would all be professors from 'Coles Notes University'. So of course young students (male) would spend much less time in class and have more time for valuable things like; parties and chasing girls.

Here's a short story about Calvin Coolridge, a past President. Cal had just come out of a church after listening to a 2 hour sermon. A reporter rushed up to him and asked what the sermon was about. Cal replied, 'sin'. And what did you get out of the sermon he was asked, 'the preacher was against it'. Cal was a smart guy.

All of my suffering was not in vein. I did learn a few valuable lessons about happiness that I will gladly share with you:

1. When you've been suffering, it sure makes you happy when it ends.

2. It make me happy to have a good rant when I'm annoyed.

3. The world loves those that can convey the most with the least amount of words.