Definitions: (1) full of good spirits; animated; full of life; joyful; (2) having a bright attitude; lightness of mind; (3) creating contagious merriment; (4) willing; hearty; (5) likely to dispel gloom or worry; (6) something that gladdens <words of cheer>
Synonyms: bonny, buoyant, happy, lively, pleasant, sprightly, sunny, riant <laughing, smiling, mirthful>
Music: “Whistle While You Work” {1937}
Whistle while you work
Put on that grin and start right in,
To whistle loud and long
Just hum a merry tune
Just do your best,
Then take a rest and sing yourself a song
— Frank Churchill (1901-1942) American composer
— Leigh Harline (1907-1969) American composer
Proverb: A cheerful heart causes good healing. — The Bible, Proverbs 17:22
Quotes:
• The best way to cheer yourself is to try to cheer somebody else up. — Mark Twain [born Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835-1910) Mark Twain’s Notebook {1935}
• Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come. — James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American romantic poet
Comment: When you are doing what you “know” you are supposed to be doing, you can be in a sublime state of cheerfulness, even if the outside circumstances point to some other emotion. I believe Christ on the cross was in a state of divine cheerfulness, even in the face of apparent failure and excruciating pain, because he was intensely aware he was doing the Father’s will.
Color: yellow