I just watched a news report
that infections of ebola virus
are spreading out from
the Democratic Republic of Congo;
1700 people have died
in the last year of infections;

I saw a man lying sickly
in a quarantined hospital bed
suffering from vomiting and diarrhea
mourning his dead wife, sister, brother,
all lost to ebola in recent days.

I wonder
how does the world protect us all
from ebola?
Fortunately, there is a vaccine
which makes people immune to ebola,
but there is only enough vaccine
to vaccinate thousands of people
when hundreds of millions are in danger.
I wonder
when and how will the world produce enough vaccine
to vaccinate all the millions in danger
from ebola?

Destiny seems
most of the time
to progress
not in quantum-leaps
but in effort-won increments.

When my emotions
are out of my control
and are controlling me,
I seek awareness of my emotions
by expressing my emotions
into a voice diary
using the microphone on my computer:
upon expression
the intense-energy of my emotions
dissipates
and my mind is clearer;
then it is easier
to self-regulate my emotions
or at least
discipline my emotions;
then I am ready
to strive
for joy and happiness.

Is there bad-envy and good-envy?
Is bad-envy
when I desire to take away from another person
what brings them joy and happiness?
Is good-envy
when I take clues
from how another person has achieved
joy and happiness
to achieve joy and happiness
for myself?

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 a joyful and happy society
should every person
who works 5 days a week
be paid enough
to buy all the products and services they need
to live a joyful and happy life?

Do I need wisdom
to understand
how to achieve
my joy and happiness?
Yes I do.

Is my wisdom
my truth
based on the evidence of my experience?
Yes it is.

Therefore,
do I need to discover truth
to achieve wisdom
and joy and happiness?
Yes I do.

Does fake-news
lead me
away from truth,
away from wisdom,
and away from my joy and happiness?
Yes it does!

When it feels
like my mind
is falling apart,
do I need
rest and rejuvenation
meditation and
philosophy
to consolidate
my emotions and thoughts
and achieve peace of mind
and clarity of thinking
so I can be more effective
at striving
for joy and happiness?

When I fear
loss,
I accept the course of destiny
and this acceptance calms me down;
then I proactively prudently strive with optimism
to do whatever I can
to avoid the loss,
and this striving I enjoy.

When I fear losing
the happiness
I am enjoying at present,
I re-focus on enjoying
my happiness
in the present-moment:
I enjoy the sun, before it sets;
I enjoy the moon, before it fades;
I enjoy loving and being loved
before my people die;
I focus on enjoying
the happiness
of the present-moment.

If my joy and happiness
depends
on telling someone "I love you",
should I tell them?
And if they reject me
will I still have
the joy and happiness
of having expressed my love?

Is the purpose of living
to experience
joy and happiness
in the present-moment?
If so,
find an activity you enjoy
and enjoy it!
For example,
is eating tasty nutritious food enjoyable?
Enjoy it!
Is talking a walk in a park enjoyable?
Enjoy it!
Is romancing a person you love enjoyable?
Enjoy it!
Search for activities to enjoy
and enjoy it!

When I feel
inconsequential,
I remind myself
Destiny does not happen without me
and all my actions
have consequences:
for example,
when I eat, my body gains nutrition,
when I exercise, my body becomes healthier,
when I’m kind to myself, I become happier,
when I’m kind to others, they become happier,
when I turn off the light in the room when I leave
I help save the planet from climate change,
and so on.
Then I realise
I am consequential!

When I feel
too small and unimportant
to be worth other’s consideration,
I remind myself
it is my responsibility
to strive to achieve
my joy and happiness
and others’ joy and happiness,
and by taking on this challenge
I make myself significant
to my joy and happiness
and others’ joy and happiness.

Is luck
Destiny bringing situations
which provide opportunities
for achieving
joy and happiness?

When I feel
my life is meaningless,
I remind myself
it is my responsibility
to make meaning of my experiences
by doing philosophy:
which clarifies
my aspirations and values,
which evaluates my experiences
in comparison to my aspirations and values,
which discovers wisdom
about what I can do
to improve my situation
to achieve my purpose: joy and happiness;
then my life is meaningful!

I feel
so many feelings
all the time.

I am
a feeling being.

I need
to feel
to understand
the meaning of my experiences
in comparison to my needs and aspirations.

But
my feelings
happen intuitively
and prior to careful evidence-based reasoning
and so my feelings are not philosophically reasonable
and so my feelings are dangerous
if I use my feelings to define what reality is.

I protect myself
from unphilosophical unreasonable feelings
by never enacting my feelings,
by never reacting motivated by feelings;
rather I use my feelings
only as information
that I am having feelings
and so my needs and aspirations
may be affected in some way
by my experiences
which led to my feelings;
then I reflect
on my experiences
to philosophically reasonably discover
how it is most useful for me to feel
to achieve my optimal joy an happiness.

When I feel
unimportant
because I am not known
for some great achievement,
I remind myself
the purpose of living
is not to achieve greatness
but to strive for my joy and happiness.
The question
I ask myself
in the present-moment
is not “Am I important?”
and not “Am I great?”
but I ask
“Am I joyful and happy?”.

I just read the first page
of James Joyce’s ‘novel’
Finnegan’s Wake;
Joyce makes up new words
and uses so many new words
that I could not comprehend
what Joyce had written.

Should authors make effort
to use words
which their audience
can understand?

I am defective
but I am striving
to improve my self
into my ideal self.

I am flawed
but I am striving
to correct my self
into my ideal self.

I am unhappy
but I am striving
to improve my self
into optimal
joy and happiness.

From the perspective
of my aged foolishness
I realise
my youthful foolishness
and I apologise.

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?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
says we are all born free,
but what do we mean by ‘freedom’?

Is a baby starving in a slum
free from poverty?

Is a baby dying in a war-zone
free from violence?

Is a baby crying in a refugee camp
free from persecution?

Should we be striving to improve our world
until babies are born free
from all the situations which lead to
our unhappiness?

When I judge myself
by other people's standards
I feel like a loser
and become unhappy.

When I free myself
from other people's standards
and focus on discovering
how to be joyful and happy
in the present-moment
in my everyday life
then I become
more joyful
more happy.

A mother is dragging her toddler
through a supermarket aisle
on a shopping trip
and toddler says “Mom, I’m tired”
and mother says
“Be quiet, you’re being abnormal!”

A worker says to his boss
“I’ve discovered a bright idea
for how to improve our workplace”
and the boss says “I’m the boss,
be quiet, you’re being abnormal!”

A politician says
to protesters against his policies
“Stop protesting, be quiet, you’re being abnormal!”

A hurting patient says to his doctor
“Doctor, I don’t like the treatment
you have chosen for me.”
And the doctor says
“This is the normal treatment for your condition,
be quiet, you are being abnormal!”

When authority makes the norms,
should we allow
freedom of abnormal speech?
To achieve
for subjects of authority
a society which listens,
a society which cares for needs,
a society which is kind,
a society which is progressive,
a society which is happier?

Is one type of friendship
people cooperating
to facilitate each other’s
joy and happiness?
Like friends
who play tennis together:
Tennis-Friends?
Like friends
who help each other study:
Study-friends?

I once rode a horse along a lovely beach.
Its hooves flicking waves and sand
onto my hands and feet.
I enjoyed the breeze through my hair,
I breathed deep into my lungs,
I breathed the smell of ocean spray and horse hair
and fun!

I take a bite
of a ginger and chocolate
cookie
and chew
pungent ginger
and sweet chocolate;
soft crumbly cookie pieces
roll over my tongue
as I chew;
my mouth waters
and the flavours
of spicy ginger and delectable chocolate
mix in my mouth.

I am happier
interacting with
happy people;
I am unhappier
interacting with
unhappy people.

Therefore,
when I make others
unhappier,
I make myself unhappier
by giving myself
unhappy people to interact with;
when I make others
happier,
I make myself happier
by giving myself
happy people to interact with.

In an ideal
joy-and-happiness-society:
would people
not use guns
to **** each other?
Would malevolent people
not be allowed to have guns?
Would mentally-ill people
not be allowed to have guns?
Would children
not be allowed to have guns?
Would law-enforcement
use guns as a last-resort?

In an ideal
joy-and-happiness-society
would government
strive to achieve
the joy and happiness
of every citizen?
Would leaders
feel compassion
for the joy and happiness
of every citizen?
Would every citizen
feel compassion
for the joy and happiness
of every other citizen?

I take responsibility
for leading
my relationships
towards joy and happiness
for me and the other person.

I write poetry
to express
my joyful and happy feelings,
and so I can feel joy and happiness
when I read my poem,
and so others can feel joy and happiness
when they read my poem.

Attempting to harm
my enemies
did not bring me joy and happiness,
did not bring me peace of mind;
I made the enmity worse,
I got myself into trouble;
I was traumatised
by the whole experience.

Now I defend myself
against enemies,
but I don’t try to harm them;
I focus on achieving my own joy and happiness.

When my emotions are in disharmony
I do introspective-philosophy
to tune up my emotions
and conduct them
until they are a harmonious symphony.

Is hate
the opposite of compassion?
Is hate
the motivation to malevolence
instead of caring
for the joy and happiness of others?
Is hate
the motivation to harm
instead of helping
others to be joyful and happy?

Does hating others
stress me,
traumatise me,
and make me unhappy?
Yes it does.
Therefore,
should I avoid
hating others
to increase my joy and happiness?
Yes I should.

Does hating another
make the target of hate
unhappy?
Yes it does.
Therefore,
is a society
in which some people hate
other people
an unhappy society?
Yes it is.

In a joy-and-happiness-society
should every person avoid
hating others
to increase joy and happiness
for themself
and everyone in society?

In a joy-and-happiness-society
should people who disagree
retain compassion for each other?

I just watched a news report:
there’s a heatwave in Europe
over 41 degrees celcius!
Forests are on fire,
people are uncomfortably sweltering,
the old and sick are dying,
climate change is happening!

I wonder
when will society
become desperate enough
about dangerous climate change
to stop using carbon-emitting fuels
and instead use renewable energies
like solar, wind and hydro?

Does our Hello-Poetry website
enable poets
from all around the world
to read each other’s poetry
and develop cross-cultural understanding
thereby facilitating global peace?

In an ideal
joy-and-happiness-society
would every person
be compassionate and helpful
to others
to facilitate the joy and happiness
of others?

I am drinking
a canary yellow mug of
hot Ceylon black tea
wafting fragrant tea-steam into my nose;
as I sip the tea into my mouth
the water nourishes my thirst and
the hot tea warms my lips, teeth and tongue
and as I swallow
spreads warmth
into my throat
and down across my chest
and into my stomach.
I feel
nourished,
refreshed,
rejuvenated,
warmed-up.

I am humble
when I’m aware
that I don’t know anything for certain;
that all I am aware of
are philosophical-questions
with uncertain changing answers.

To act with humility
is to be aware
that I am unomniscient and uncertain
so I need
to be on guard
against the unforseen
bad consequences
of my action.

In an ideal
joy and happiness society
would every person
be wise and virtuous?
And therefore
would every person
be able to trust
every other person?

I am unaware of
what I am unaware of;
I predict
there are many more experiences
and concepts
to be aware of
that I am currently ignorant of.

I just watched a news report:
Global numbers of insects are halving every 25 years
Bees Butterflies Moths and other species disappearing
which is a problem because
it kills Birds Reptiles Fish which live off the insects,
and insects pollinate 75% of crops which humans grow,
and 87% of all plant species on the planet need pollinating;
if insects die then flowering plants will die,
most plants will die.
Why are insects dying?
Farmers are blamed for using pesticides
but there may be other causes too.

I was left wondering:
Is there something we can do
to save insects and plants?

I am enjoying
holding a hot steam iron
gently pressing it downwards
and moving it across
a white cotton crumpled coat
which becomes neatly flat
as I iron.

When I have completed ironing the coat
and I put the coat on a hangar
and I see the coat neatly flat
I feel happy.

Do we need
material-prosperity
to be joyful and happy?
Yes we do.

Do we need
material-objects
like plastic-bottles and aluminium-cans
to be prosperous
joyful and happy?
Yes we do.

Is there a finite-supply
on the Earth
of many materials we use to enjoy prosperity
like plastic and aluminium?
Yes, many materials are finite.

Therefore,
do we have to recycle
finite-materials
like plastic-bottles and aluminium-cans
to maintain sufficient supply
to achieve joyful and happy prosperity
into the future?

Gilberto Luna
was a Mexican pioneer farmer
who lived in an area of Texas
which is now Big Bend National Park
and Luna’s 130 year old Jacal (hut)
remains to be seen today.

Luna’s Jacal
is built with
walls of sandstones and limestones,
wooden poles as pillars supporting a roof
made from tree branches
weighed down with earth and stones.

Luna’s Jacal
like many other
pioneer huts
was built from materials
found in his environment:
We strive to build our happiness
from opportunities found
in our environment.

Today in Texas
people live in skyscrapers
built with concrete, steel, glass,
materials produced by years of
discovery, innovation, adaptation
of new ways of using materials
from our natural-environment
to improve our built-environment:
We strive to
discover new ways
to improve our environment
to improve our happiness.

In an ideal
joy-and-happiness-society
would we work
at an optimal
joy-and-happiness
pace?

Joy-and-happiness-people
are people
who live striving to
optimise their own joy and happiness
and facilitate optimal joy and happiness
for others.

Interacting with
joy-and-happiness-people
increases
my joy and happiness.

I seek
joy-and-happiness-people
to be friends with,
to work with,
to romance,
to do everything with
in joyful-and-happy society.