When I excuse
my faults
I lose the opportunity
to improve myself.

When I accept
my faults
and evaluate my self
I can then
improve my self
towards the wisdom and virtue
I need
to achieve optimal joy and happiness.

In an ideal
joy-and-happiness-society
would every person in society
including women
fulfil their potential
to experience optimal joy and happiness?
Would women be given
the freedom and encouragement
to express their unique authentic self
in an optimally joyful and happy way?
Would women be given
the freedom, encouragement, support and resources
to develop and exercise to the full
their talents
to experience optimal joy and happiness?

I realise and appreciate that my joy and happiness
depends not on my work alone
but also depends on the work of thousands of people
in a well-functioning society surrounding me.
For example:
When I’m using the internet
I appreciate that thousands of workers at the internet company
are working to bring me internet.
When I’m using water
I appreciate that thousands of workers at the water company
are working to bring me water.
When I’m using electricity
I appreciate that thousands of workers at the electricity company
are working to bring me electricity.
When I’m shopping at the supermarket
I appreciate that thousands of workers at the supermarket-company
are working to bring me groceries.
When I need my garbage collected
I appreciate that thousands of workers in the government
are working to collect my garbage.

I wonder
what are all the social-processes working
to support and facilitate my joy and happiness?

If I am rich,
then I’ll strive for joy and happiness rich;
If I am poor,
then I’ll strive for joy and happiness poor.
If I am popular,
then I’ll strive for joy and happiness popular;
If I am outcast,
then I’ll strive for joy and happiness outcast.
If  I am famous,
then I’ll strive for joy and happiness famous;
If I am unknown,
then I’ll strive for joy and happiness unknown.

I was an outcast
in school
nobody liked me
I had no friends
noone to talk to
noone to share my experiences with
noone to understand me
noone to learn from
noone to help me
I was alone
and lonely
and sad.

Now, reflecting on my memories
of my outcast loneliness
I am relieved from my trauma
by expressing to myself my lonely sadness
as I’m doing in this poem,
and reminding myself that my school-days are in the past
and re-focusing on being in the present-moment
and striving for my joy and happiness.

When I was a youth
I was busy, busy, busy,
rushing from one activity to another
ambitious for success,
but I was unhappy
because I was too busy
to care for my mind,
my mind was suffering and confused
with many bottled-up emotions and thoughts;

Now that I’m wiser
I realise
what I need
is to take time-out
to care for my mind:
to introspect into my emotions and thoughts
to express to myself my emotions and thoughts
to become aware of my emotions and thoughts
to evaluate my emotions and thoughts
to improve my emotions and thoughts
until I have achieved wisdom
about what I can do
to achieve my joy and happiness.

Do we need to forbear (abstain)
from doing particular activities
to optimise our joy and happiness?
For example:
Do we need to forbear
from overeating
to prevent obesity and diabetes
and optimise our health, joy and happiness?
Do we need to forbear
from overindulging in alcohol
to prevent brain-damage and liver-damage
and optimise our health, joy and happiness?

What other activities
should we forbear from
to optimise our joy and happiness?