Our pastor's sermon today was about the difference between happiness and joy and how happiness is a momentary thing that changes depending upon a situation and joy is a long term emotion that one experiences throughout one's entire life. As usual, during the sermon, my thoughts traveled to Mayberry, and I couldn't help but think about the things that brought the people of Mayberry such joy and contentment. Most things in Mayberry were very simple. The people were unpretentious and most were hard working non professionals with modest homes and incomes that had most living from paycheck to paycheck. But still they experienced joy because they lived in a loving and caring community where they were not just a statistic when it came to Mayberry's population. Whether they were a teacher, the banker, the farmer, or the town drunk, they were an important part of Mayberry. I read a report today that the number one prescription drug sold in America today is antidepressant medication. In a time when our communication and media technology can give us instant connection to anyone anywhere in the world, we are still one of the loneliest and unfulfilled people on earth. While we are sitting at our computers instant messaging to complete strangers and chatting in chat rooms to people we never have met, we sometimes do not even know the person living next door to us. Why is it we have to reach out to total strangers when we shy away from the people who are closest to us? Mayberry was indeed a place of joy and although people there had many of the same problems we have today, they had the most important thing to bring them joy. They had caring neighbors and friends who knew their names and shared in their lives every day.
Ken Anderson 2906 May Street Eau Claire, WI 54701 (Home) 715-839-8470 ( Cell ) 715-210-1556 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.mayberryreflections.com _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list [email protected] http://wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
