Attitudes Toward Simchas

Time and again we read and hear (or at least I do) that it's our perspective and not the external event that makes a difference.

I find it interesting that when it comes to attending weddings and other simchas, I have heard:

1) moans and groans about attending, attending seen as a chore, an obligation

and

2) someone recently say what a lift they get from attending a simcha.

When I heard the latter it made me think, wow, what a different perspective.  It pulls down the one and raises up the other.

Then there are those who survived the Holocaust or are closely related or identified with that tragic era who see every Jewish simcha as something extraordinary and a major celebration.

It is a blessing to see a simcha through simcha-eyes!

I myself have felt both 1 and 2 but then again, as I once heard in a talk, when we hear about a simcha, our natural tendency is to focus on ourselves (what will I wear, etc.) when it really should be about them and sharing in the simcha and being happy for the other.