Woman to Woman
Vol. 5, No. 6
“And ye are complete in him.” Colossians 2:10
Nov./Dec. 2002
Happy Homemaking and Family Harmony
Tips for Increasing Cheerfulness
Vijai P. Sharma, Ph.D
Martha Washington, wife of the
nation’s first President, was deter-
mined to be cheerful and happy
whatever situation she was in. She
believed that cheerfulness, to a
large extent, depended on the dispo-
sition of a person and not on his or
her circumstances.
“Determination” and “belief” are
the two major operatives here. You must be “determined” to be
cheerful and you must “believe” that your cheerfulness or hap-
piness largely depends on you and not on your circumstances.
Some view cheerfulness as a personality trait or part of
one’s temperament. It might be more meaningful to view
cheerfulness as an acquired trait, a habit of the mind.
When you keep on repeating a physical action it becomes
a behavioral habit, such as the smoking habit. When you keep
repeating such mental actions as thinking a particularthought
or believing a particularbelief, itbecomes a mentalhabit, like
cheerfulness or hopelessness.
Though our thoughts, perceptions and interpretations are
mental actions, they do manifest themselves in our physical
actions and outward expressions. Your cheerfulness would
reflect in such external things as your speech and facial ex-
pressions. So if you are a person of cheerful disposition, oth-
ers would notice it right away.
The word “cheer” is derived from the root word, “chere”
which literally means the face. Perhaps people in olden days
began to equate joy, mirth and friendship with a brightened
smiley face. After all, cheerfulness does show in the facial
expression, the look and the demeanor of the person.
Cheerfulness is like having spring season all year long.
The joy, mirth, laughter and other momentary expressions of
cheerfulness are like weather events of that all-year-long
spring season.
Cheerfulness has a social value. A cheerful face is one of
the best forms of greeting—makes the other person feel wel-
come and appreciated. It makes them feel good about them-
selves and is rewarding to the person who initiates the greet-
ing. Mark Twain once said that the best way to cheer yourself
up is to try to cheer somebody else up. And, it all begins with
a smiley face.
Someone said cheerfulness is infectious. Don’t avoid
catching it from someone else. Even better, become a “car-
rier” of it and infect someone else.
Once fully developed, the cheerful temperament can stay
with you forever. In fact, if the emotional development has
progressed satisfactorily through the various phases of the
life cycle, cheerfulness should increase and not decrease
(Continued on page 7)
Inside This Issue:
Editorial
Hellos and Good-byes ··············Page 2
Encounters With Jesus
The Little Woman Who Could ·········Page 4
Come Sit at the Feet of Jesus
The Fall & Restoration of Eve ·········Page 5
A Page from My Experience
My Special In-laws, My Special Blessings · · · Page 6
The Path to Cheerfulness ············Page 7
Health is Wealth
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made ········Page 8
Health vs. Wealth ················Page 8
A Patchwork of Blessings ·············Page 10
Spotlight on Orphans
Encouraging News from Homa Bay ······Page 12
Beauty for Ashes ··················Page 14
The Pleas Keep Coming In ············Page 16
Although Things Are Not Perfect·········Page 18
We Study God’s Word
A Tree to be Desired ··············Page 19
