laugh often

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intellingent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

While I'm not very familiar with Emerson's work, I do greatly appreciate the above.  I feel it sums up my goals.  To make some small change in the world we live in.  I have to keep this in mind when I feel as I did earlier this month.