I'm not mean.

[SarahB]

I'm just happy now.

I want everyone to be happy somehow.

[enigmatic]

1. Me too

I know the world is going to shit right now and I feel guilty because I'm very happy while others aren't. Especially when for most of my life I was one of the unhappy ones..

[Heidi]

6. Me, too.

I sort of believe that a lot of people are mean because they're afraid or hurting or angry, and it makes me feel blessed that I haven't had those elements in my life in a long while.

[enigmatic]

7. Yep

I was one of the ones that closed myself off to others because of the darkness; I don't regret those times because it was something I had to work through, but it was very, very rough for a long time..

There's alot of unhappy, angry, lonley people out there: I just hope everybody can find their happiness..

[Heidi]

8. You might find this interesting.

I underlined the portion that has been most freeing in my own life.

Consider the following. We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.

Nor is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by concern for others. But that is not all. We find that not only do altruistic actions bring about happiness but they also lessen our experience of suffering. Here I am not suggesting that the individual whose actions are motivated by the wish to bring others' happiness necessarily meets with less misfortune than the one who does not. Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort or another are the same for us all. But the sufferings which undermine our internal peace -- anxiety, doubt, disappointment -- these things are definitely less. In our concern for others, we worry less about ourselves. When we worry less about ourselves an experience of our own suffering is less intense.

What does this tell us? Firstly, because our every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others' happiness, ethics are necessary as a means to ensure that we do not harm others. Secondly, it tells us that genuine happiness consists in those spiritual qualities of love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness and so on. For it is these which provide both for our happiness and others' happiness.

[MissHoneychurch]

2. who says you are mean?

and I am happy that you are happy

[SarahB]

5. No one.

Just various complexities that I wish I could do something to make better, but I can't now (not sure if I ever could).

[6th Borough]

3. OMG, I just got a cyberhug! AND I just *know* that was for me.

Stand back, people!

OK, that's better now. BTW, why would anyone consider someone who has a blooming 16-bit flower as an avatar to be mean?

(FYI, I'm a schiv, a yob, and, under certain circumstances...a right slapper to boot).

[Spinzonner]

4. Maybe you're just median

How standard is your deviation ?

[NewJeffCT]

9. I don't care what everybody else says, Sarah

you're okay in my book!

[Pale Blue Dot]

10. ...