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Title:

Cheerfulness

Cheerfulness is when the brow of the hill seems close. When you are taking the last few steps forward. It is the unique experience of the day before a special event, the last few moments. It is when you have passed through so much and there's only a little to go, and that little is easy, because you'd only lose if you turned back. Cheerfulness is the brilliance of being free, even of having to choose, because everything you've done up to this point has already dictated the future. So how can we be cheerful, when we have got to go so far? It is a matter of clarity and conviction. Firstly, you will have to be able to see beyond the present, to have such vision that you can sense a good future, not just for you, but for everything.

April 08, 2003 4:29 p.m. ET