I started thinking after reading Cturtle's post about sorrow and grief and how these emotions can give the enemy a way to get his foot in the door. Then I thought about emotions like happiness and joy, and in them I see the same danger. It seems to me that being happy can be as much if not more self-deluding, as sadness or grief. There is very little in this world to be joyful about. Anything that is lovely or beautiful is outweighed many times by human misery, suffering of humans and creatures, and negativity in general. It seems to me that a countenance of seriousness and remaining hypervigilant to attack from the evil one is what one should strive for. I am beginning to believe there is no room for frivolity like happiness and laughter - that these are just the flip side of despair and depression. I have to ruminate on this a little further, but I believe that Cturtle has planted an important seed in me that I now need to cultivate. I am seriously beginning to believe that those who suffer from flat-affect (no emotion) may well be living more in reality than anyone who feel emotions either good or bad. Hmmm...this is a thought that requires serious development. Perhaps it is time for me to wipe the self-deluded smile off my face and start to live a life devoid of emotion. This is something that needs to be thoroughly explored by me and I feel could well change the way I see life in general.