(א) מִצְוָה גְּדוֹלָה לִהְיוֹת בְּשִׂמְחָה תָּמִיד, וּלְהִתְגַּבֵּר לְהַרְחִיק הָעַצְבוּת וְהַמָּרָה שְׁחֹרָה בְּכָל כֹּחוֹ. וְכָל הַחוֹלַאַת הַבָּאִין עַל הָאָדָם, כֻּלָּם בָּאִין רַק מִקִּלְקוּל הַשִּׂמְחָה...וְהַשִּׂמְחָה הִוא רְפוּאָה גְּדוֹלָה...
(ב) וְהַכְּלָל, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְהַתְגַּבֵּר מְאֹד בְּכָל הַכֹּחוֹת, לִהְיוֹת אַךְ שָׂמֵחַ תָּמִיד. כִּי טֶבַע הָאָדָם – לִמְשֹׁךְ עַצְמוֹ לְמָרָה שְׁחֹרָה וְעַצְבוּת מֵחֲמַת פִּגְעֵי וּמִקְרֵי הַזְּמַן, וְכָל אָדָם מָלֵא יִסּוּרִים, עַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ לְהַכְרִיחַ אֶת עַצְמוֹ בְּכֹחַ גָּדוֹל לִהְיוֹת בְּשִׂמְחָה תָּמִיד וּלְשַׂמֵּחַ אֶת עַצְמוֹ בְּכָל אֲשֶׁר יוּכַל, וַאֲפִלּוּ בְּמִלֵּי דִּשְׁטוּתָא. אַף שֶׁגַּם לֵב נִשְׁבָּר הוּא טוֹב מְאֹד, עִם כָּל זֶה הוּא רַק בְּאֵיזוֹ שָׁעָה, וְרָאוּי לִקְבֹּעַ לוֹ אֵיזֶה שָׁעָה בַּיּוֹם לְשַׁבֵּר לִבּוֹ וּלְפָרֵשׁ שִׂיחָתוֹ לְפָנָיו יִתְבָּרַךְ, כַּמּוּבָא אֶצְלֵנוּ, אֲבָל כָּל הַיּוֹם כֻּלּוֹ צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת בְּשִׂמְחָה. כִּי מִלֵּב נִשְׁבָּר בְּקַל יְכוֹלִין לָבוֹא לְמָרָה שְׁחֹרָה, יוֹתֵר מֵאֲשֶׁר יְכוֹלִין לִכָּשֵׁל עַל־יְדֵי שִׂמְחָה, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, לָבוֹא לְאֵיזֶה הוֹלֵלוּת, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, כִּי זֶה קָרוֹב יוֹתֵר לָבוֹא מִלֵּב נִשְׁבָּר לְמָרָה שְׁחֹרָה. עַל־כֵּן צָרִיךְ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה בְּשִׂמְחָה תָּמִיד, רַק בְּשָׁעָה מְיֻחֶדֶת יִהְיֶה לוֹ לֵב נִשְׁבָּר:
A) It is a great mitzvah to be happy at all times. And to strive with all one's strength to distance one's self from depression and a dark countenance. All illnesses that come to a person come because of disturbances to his happiness...But joy is a great medicine.
B) Make every effort to maintain a happy, positive outlook at all times. It is a natural human tendency to become discouraged and depressed because of the hard ships of life: everyone has their full share of suffering. That is why you must force yourself to be happy at all times. Use every possible way to bring yourself to joy, even by joking or acting a little crazy!
It's true that a "broken heart" is actually good for an individual, but it's best to set aside only an hour each day to cultivate a broken heart in prayer before Hashem, and the rest of the day, one ought to cultivate only joy and happiness. Because from a broken heart, it's relatively easy to succumb to a dark countenance -- easier, we might say, than it is to go from happiness to debauchery.
I have been sad, deeply sad, in many instances throughout my life. Not clinically depressed, thankfully, but sad. Sad because I lost contact with a friend. Sad over the death of a family member. Sad owing to a love lost or a promise unfulfilled. Sometimes the sadness stretched on for weeks, sometimes it lingered for months.
In those early stages of sadness, I never quite knew what to do with the feeling. Should I see someone? Do I need to read more books on analytical psychology? Is there an app for this? Tell me there is an app for this!
Always the emphasis was on moving forward straight away. Leaving the sadness alone never occurred to me. And why would it? When you’re sad, everyone around you is hell-bent on making you less so. Sadness is a state to be expunged and purged; it is not a place you stay in. If you go down, you must get up, and quickly, too. Cry in the bathroom, by all means, but make sure you rejoin the party...
But what if sadness is good for us?...
We think that if we’re not happy all the time, completely satisfied in our jobs, and having state-of-the-art travel experiences that something is fundamentally broken.
Yet sadness is a reasonable response to the horrors of the world and the absurdities and disappointments of modern life.