This sounds so bleak when I say it, but we need some delusions to keep us going. And the people who successfully delude themselves seem happier than the people who can't.
Cheerfulness, up to and including delusion and false hope, has a recognized place in medicine.
It was better for me when I could imagine greatness in others, even if it wasn't always there.
DELUSION, n. The father of a most respectable family, comprising Enthusiasm, Affection, Self-denial, Faith, Hope, Charity and many other goodly sons and daughters.
There is an interesting scientific dispute about realism and optimism. Some find that very optimistic people have benign illusions about themselves. These people may think they have more control, or more skill, than they actually do. Others have found that optimistic people have a good handle on reality. The jury is still out.
You must not look in that mirror at your doughy legs and flat feet, for today is about dreams and illusions, and unfiltered natural daylight is the enemy of dreams.
In short, the world abounds with simple delusions which we may call "happiness", if we be but able to entertain them.
I'm like everyone else—I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.
No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities.
Truth is not always the best basis for happiness. There are certain lies which may constitute a far better and more secure foundation of happiness. There are people who perish when their eyes are opened.
Perhaps we've invented conspiracies for our own psychic well-being, to heal ourselves.
I think it's perfectly acceptable and rather admirable to be moderately delusional
