Happiness Tips from 1820
I’m a fan of anachronistic, old-fashioned traditions — everything from handwritten notes to saying “luncheon,” rather than lunch. But there is an added charm when the ways of the past are not so very different from the ways of now. Take for example, Sydney Smith’s letter written to friend Lady Georgiana in 1820 with tips for cheering oneself up [via the Happiness Project]:
1st. Live as well as you dare.
2nd. Go into the shower-bath with a small quantity of water at a temperature low enough to give you a slight sensation of cold, 75 or 80 degrees.
3rd. Amusing books.
4th. Short views of human life—not further than dinner or tea.
5th. Be as busy as you can.
6th. See as much as you can of those friends who respect and like you.
7th. And of those acquaintances who amuse you.
8th. Make no secret of low spirits to you friends, but talk of them freely—they are always worse for dignified concealment.
9th. Attend to the effects tea and coffee produce upon you.
10th. Compare your lot with that of other people.
11th. Don’t expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.
12th. Avoid poetry, dramatic representations (except comedy), music, serious novels, melancholy, sentimental people, and everything likely to excite feeling or emotion, not ending in active benevolence.
13th. Do good, and endeavour to please everybody of every degree.
14th. Be as much as you can in the open air without fatigue.
15th. Make the room where you commonly sit gay and pleasant.
16th. Struggle by little and little against idleness.
17th. Don’t be too severe upon yourself, or underrate yourself, but do yourself justice.
18th. Keep good blazing fires.
19th. Be firm and constant in the exercise of rational religion.
20th. Believe me, dear Lady Georgiana.”
Sara Rose: I love this.2 years ago
Yeah, me too.
Some advice is timeless.2 years ago
Phoo-D: This is quite profound. By this list we can see that nothing new ever brings great happiness – the same time honored activities and ways of finding peace work every time. The best thing is they are pretty much available to everyone and free! Thank you for posting this.2 years ago
Sarah Jane: Miss Smith was a wise lady.2 years ago
Tiffany: Such great advice! I think keeping it simple is key!2 years ago
anna: there is such comfort in the fact that, in spite of change, basics will always remain the same. seeing that in writing is really perfect for where i am right now in my life.2 years ago
PhooD, I really like the way you put it. It is pretty profound that what brings real, true happiness is the same now as it was almost 200 years ago — simple pleasures, companionship and community, beauty in our surroundings, doing good, and eating well. At least, that’s how I would put it, in a nutshell.
anna, i’m so glad to have passed on to you the right comfort at the right time!2 years ago
Julia: I get a kick out of #11: Don’t expect too much from human life—a sorry business at the best.
So true in some ways…Thanks for this!2 years ago
Kristina: I don’t agree with the poetry bit.
2 years ago
Emily: I’m inspired both by your blog and The Happiness Project. Thanks for sharing.
These are hilarious and entertaining. I’m a fan of spending time in the open air (14) and making my rooms “gay and pleasant” (15) and in the last year I’ve even started to avoid the dark indie films I tend to be drawn toward (12).
Love your opening picture of good old-fashioned hand-held mail.2 years ago
EB: Can I tell you how much I love Lady Georgiana?! No joke. Totally dig her life.2 years ago
Avril: Thanks for sharing Sarah…its so wonderful! I particularly love 17…and I completely agree with you on “luncheon”
Cheerio!2 years ago
Christine S.: I agree with Anna. This was given to us as a reminder with such perfect timing. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my life is its fullest when I focus on the simple things. When I focus on what truly is necessary for life, my days are easy and usually painted with a smile on my face. Thanks, Sarah!2 years ago
Avril: And Christine I agree with you…life is beautiful when its simple. I find it so easy to be me and so easy to “live” when im just doing what I need to make life happen for me and loved ones. Oh yea, and Im going back to the handwritten notes soon!2 years ago
zann: What a bucketful of wisdom! Love the sage advice of taking “the short view of human life….dinner, tea.” Wow, if I could stop obsessing about the future, I’d be so free. I do wish Lady Georgina were still around, though, so I could get her to ellaborate on what she considers “rational religion.” Any thoughts anyone? And as a lover of poetry and complex literature/philosophy/art, etc, I take #12 to mean you should take care when exposing yourself to negativity and sadness, even when it’s artful. Like, how many times have I seen a movie because others recommended it as “so great,” only to wind up being depressed by it and then feeling helpless? I think Georgina’s point is that, if you’re going to go there, then plan to do something with the awareness it provokes — like volunteering to help end the suffering of others. Thanks so much for sharing this. Great comments!2 years ago
Karen: This is great! And I love that photo…makes me want to write a few letters to old friends and learn fancy penmanship!2 years ago
rachael: How interesting when we see how we are not so different no matter how much time goes by. The key to happiness, I believe, is following through on your ‘to do list’ for life. I find it is much easier than we think to acutally follow through on those things that we ‘have always wanted to do’.
I get a kick out of old letters too.
I got a hatbox from my grandmother, filled with letters my mother wrote home during her college disco days…totally groovy to the max!
And my old friend in portland Oregon, helped out on an estate sale, and when he went in the basement to clear things out, he came across a makeshift mailbox. Inside the mailbox he found hundreds of letters written by the owner of the house. See, the owner had been madly in love with his wife, and when she left him, he wrote her a letter every day for the rest of his life. Most beautiful letters in the world. My friend kept them and bound them and has them as a book. Prized possession!2 years ago
Alissa: I love these so much! It’s amazing just how timeless the advice actually is
1 year ago