Comments on She Sells Seashells: Instructions for Peace and Happiness

Hi Jenny, I found you because you link to me (Rook...

2010-09-30T10:36:26.759-06:00

Hi Jenny, I found you because you link to me (Rookie Moms) and I was immediately intrigued by your discussion of the radical homemaking trend. (I live in Berkeley, so you can imagine...)

It made me start thinking about how the trend of discussing Happiness and how to get there fits into the pressure to breastfeed, cloth diaper, raise chickens. Then I scrolled down to see that you had also addressed "Happiness"!

Truly first world problems, of course, to have all these choices. By what means will I fill my children's plates with healthy food? Shall I work as a marketing manager and spend my money to shop at Whole Foods? Stay home and plant a garden? Or work outside the home and hire someone else to plant my garden?! Which path will make me happy and by what criteria will I measure my happiness?

I do enjoy all these books as well but at the end of the day, I think we have to laugh at ourselves. No?

Perhaps we could learn to make peace with our dist...

2010-04-26T20:58:08.182-06:00

Perhaps we could learn to make peace with our distresses and imperfections--those things that both make life interesting and grow our desire to initiate change--and that acceptance itself would lead to more happiness? Here's hoping. :)

I like the concept of gaining a sense of contentme...

2010-04-26T12:53:54.549-06:00

I like the concept of gaining a sense of contentment with chronic discontent. I do think that discontent serves a purpose, but it's not always possible to figure out what that purpose is at the time of the discontent. Believing that it serves a purpose takes the edge off a bit, tho.