Happy now?

Someone wise said writing about sadness is easy but only a phenomenal writer can write about happiness well. I got this from Streats columnist, Janice Wong's web site (http://www.janice-wong.com) in her Random Thoughts. She was commenting how sometimes we should really take stock of our lives and count our blessings.

I enjoy reading Janice's articles in Streats but from my previous blog Strange Transmissions, you'll probably realise that the tabloid Streats will soon cease to exist. Janice writes in a way that sets your mind thinking from a different perspective. Once again these words from her site do carry with it certain truth.

I used to enjoy watching dramas on television but it wasn't long before I became bored of the sick trend. Local Chinese dramas on Channel 8 like the most recent Double Happiness and Holland Village bank on creating family tragedies to gain viewership. The resulting scenes that appear on TV are actors and actresses screaming at each other with faux tears in their eyes, hoping to tug at a heartstring or two.

I am repulsed by it all and have now rededicated that time slot to better uses. Personally, I cannot imagine someone who comes back from stressful day of work only to inflict more misery into him/herself by watching such depressing shows. Then again maybe sad stories have their appeal because people find they can relate themselves better to a sad situation or sympathise with someone with a worse fortune than theirs. Perhaps it could just be that sad stories are easier to write.

Giving it some thought writing something cheerful indeed isn't as simple as it
sounds. Yet a writer that can share joy through his/her works of expression
can lift the spirits of this seemingly sad world. What we need to cure sadness is not more melancholy but a dose of happiness. With that in mind, I shall set out to write something happy.