*** Robert Muller, Prophet of Hope

Anyone ever hear of Robert Muller? I hadn't until I just happened to catch him on a "Great Conversations" show.

Muller used to be a Deputy to the Secretary General of the UN. He's been nominated 19 times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Now that's quite an honor. There have been a lot of NPP awards that were definitely more politically motivated than empirically justified. However, I think Muller is the real deal in the Peace Prize arena, and he should have gotten it.

I don't agree with everything he says. We have very divergent views regarding the issues of National Security, the military, world economic theory, and probably a few others. But one thing definitely floats my boat: his concept of happiness.

Muller says we all have the power to make ourselves happy, and that life is whole lot better when we do. He says it can be done under any circumstances, and he should know. He was captured by the Gestapo while fighting with the French Resistance during WW II. I can't think of a much worse scenario for "un"happiness and misery than that.

But Muller willed himself to be happy. He created his own personal happiness virtual reality in his mind. He survived the Gestapo, post-war Refugee Camps, and the loss of just about everything he'd had, and many of those he'd known and loved.

He finally got an intern job at the UN. Somewhere along the way, he got a PhD too, and eventually rose to the position of Deputy to the Secretary General. He became known as the Prophet of Hope because of his constantly optimistic view of mankind and the chance for eventual world peace. He brought together people and parties that had never worked together before. He helped change the world a little bit for the better.

I believe in Robert Muller’s happiness principle. Smiling and thinking happy thoughts might seem simplistic and corny, but it got Muller through a Gestapo-run prison, and that's enough of a proof of concept for me.

© Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved. Ed Runci