It’s incredibly annoying to be told to smile when you don’t feel like it; nobody has the right to tell you how to feel. On the other hand, scientists have discovered that even putting your lips into the shape of a smile by holding a pencil between your teeth will put you in a more positive frame of mind. So…you know…if you felt like it…you could give smiling a try.
What never fails to make you smile?
A lobster trap lures the unsuspecting crustacean into what looks like a cozy spot, but then it turns out it’s next to impossible to get out. Some of us have the same experience with things like Facebook, video games or television.
What traps you?
Sure, there are times that we feel “up a creek without a paddle,” but more often the reality is that we do have the paddle in hand, or at least in the boat, and we just have to summon the strength to keep paddling.
What sustains you when the paddling gets hard?
It’s great that you can get your false teeth repaired while you wait, but it’s a pity that there isn’t a much broader range for this service. Wouldn’t it be great if you could sit down in a chair and have them fix up your broken heart or your feeling of disillusionment?
What one thing would you choose to have repaired while you waited?
“Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.” —Susan Sontag
What have you learned as a citizen in the land of illness?
