16:33 01 August 2014
Pope Francis has given 10 tips for happiness during a candid interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarin this week.
He advised families to communicate during dinner time by switching off the television. He added that part of the recipe to being happy include spending their Sundays with family and having enough time for leisure instead of working non-stop.
The Pope was also quoted by the newspaper as saying: "We can inspire others through witness so that one grows together in communicating. But the worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes: 'I am talking with you in order to persuade you.' No. Each person dialogues, starting with his and her own identity.”
He also touched on politics saying that “consumerism has brought us anxiety” and that the destruction of our environment “is one of the biggest challenges we have.”
Pope Francis' 10 tips for a happy life:
1. "Live and let live."
2. "Be giving of yourself to others. ...If you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming egocentric...And stagnant water becomes putrid."
3. "Proceed calmly" in life.
4. Have "a healthy sense of leisure."
5. "Sunday is for family."
6. Be "creative" with young people and find innovative ways to create dignified jobs. “If they have no opportunities, they will get into drugs."
7. Respect and take care of nature. “Isn't humanity committing suicide with this indiscriminate and tyrannical use of nature?"
8. Stop being negative. "Letting go of negative things quickly is healthy.”
9. "The worst thing of all is religious proselytism, which paralyzes."
10. Work for peace. "We are living in a time of many wars. The call for peace must be shouted. Peace sometimes gives the impression of being quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is always proactive."