Prescriptions for Happiness (T

Ken Keyes, not to be confused with Ken Kesey the novelist, published this simple but profound book in 1982 but it still works. "Simple" because it's written to look like a poem, with only a few words on each page, making it fast and easy to read with only 127 pages in the edition I have. Plus, the prescriptions themselves are deceptively and disarmingly elementary. "Profound" because Keyes is relying on the wisdom of ancient and modern religions and spiritual systems, a wisdom that is effective because it reflects how the world actually works, rather than how we might want it to be. I find his words both challenging and reassuring. For instance, the first prescription is: Ask for what you want, but don't demand it. He says we can practice non-demanding asking by keeping the tone of our request casual and light, as in "Please pass the pepper." This isn't Hegel or Kant, OK? It's down home advice, with a slightly but not off-putting hippie or New Age tone. Anyway, it's a truth we all know intuitively. Can I do it? Not always, but I'm happy working on it.