The importance of being pleasant

Being pleasant or 'a nice person' is important. Some prefer to be mean and angry at others all the time but in the end they are only harming themselves. Happiness is a state of mind, I have often written on that. Not just me, many others write on the importance of being happy. There is even 'laughing therapy' that some do when they attempt to laugh for a certain amount of time each day to maintain their good mood and be healed and healthy. Being in a good mood helps us to learn better, to function better and to be more at ease with ourselves and those around us. While being angry and mean and shouting at others may get us the things we want - ahead in a line, a discounted price, 'better' service, a quiet room, things on time we are in the end only harming ourselves because others end up doing things to please us not out of love, but out of fear and many times they will not look out for us when things get difficult because they know that they don't have to. They take care of us out of obligation not out of love. This is harmful to us in the end because we will not understand the value of true interpersonal relationships. Others will not want us around. They will not tell us about get togethers, they will not include us in any social events. Being pleasant and kind and good to others helps us to truly understand to be patient and to make an effort to be nice to people even when we don't want to. We should learn to be good and do good so that we can truly follow Kanha's teachings and make the world a better place. When we read stories about Kanha, do we ever read anything where He was unnecessarily rude or angry to His loved ones? He loved everyone and His good mood and infectious spirit helped everyone around Him to also be in a good mood and love others. He came here to show us how to live, how to deal with strife and unhappiness - He did not kill the great snake in the Yamuna, He tamed it. Whenever He killed a demon they attained moksh because they were killed by Him and He allowed them to repent for the sins they committed. He gave His uncle ample time to change His ways, but when Kans did not, Kanha did as He had to. Kanha always paid respect to His elder brother, His parents, His aunts, uncles and other relatives. He showed us to use other avenues to master our emotions - He played his bansuri often. He danced often. He laughed often. Let us all use His example and try to be pleasant and good people. Jai Shri Krishna!