Sunday, February 3, 2008
No Time for Happiness
It seems as if people are wasting too much of their time trying to be happy that they are really missing out on opportunities to actually be happy. Instead of reading self-help books they could be doing something that makes them smile, like playing a sport, walking their dog, or dancing. People these days seemed too consumed with everything that is going on in their lives that they miss out on the little things in life. I truly believe it is the little things that make you happy and make the next day worth living. You need to learn to appreciate things at face value and not always try to look to the deeper meaning. Sometimes things are just the way they are. Schumaker states "happiness now reigns supreme over noble priorities such as love, health, family, God, wisdom, and honesty" (12). This seems to be contradictory because all of things help make someone happy. At least personally I would not be happy without those other priorities. That is what I think people don’t understand. They cannot just be happy; the things of life contribute to their happiness. You cant just wake up one morning and be happy. You need to take simple everyday steps in order to fulfill yourself and feel happy. Joseph Heller is quoted on page 13 stating, "The idea of always being blissfully happy is scary". I completely agree with this statement. I would not want to feel completely happy all the time. It would provide no room for growth and no way to gauge when I actually am truly happy. You need ups and downs to make you realize what behaviors bring about happiness in yourself and what behaviors do not fulfill you and change the ones that do not make you happy. By doing this you will naturally be happier and you can do it all on your own, without self-help books or someone guiding you along the way. Happiness is a personal journey that one must go at alone. What makes one person happy may not do the same for the next.
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3 comments:
I liked most of your argument, especially that happiness is happening all the time without us realizing it. To be happy, we must live in the moment, realize we are happy exactly when it is happening. At the end of the weekend, if we say we had a good weekend, we have already missed the "good" parts and are already worried about school or work on Monday. So, yes, to be happy, we have to learn to know when we are happy. However, you said something that realy struck a nerve in me. One of the most important aspects to happiness is our relationships with others. You said that, "Happiness is a personal journey that one must go at alone." Actually, it's exactly the opposite. Humans are social beings and the journey of life, in our search for happiness we must surround ourselvs with others. Those we do go at it alone are the most unhappy among us. This selfish egocentric view is why so many people struggle from depression. They are the people who constantly search for happiness but never find it. Moral of the story, live for today, and surround yourself with good people that care about your wellbeing and vice versa.
Ballerina in Blue can jump back in here, but I would interpret her sentence about the personal journey as simply meaning that somebody else cannot tell you what you must do to be happy. What makes you happy will depend on your individual tastes and interests. I don't think she meant that you have to find the happiness in solitude. Is that right?
I just read about an anti-happiness book by a professor at Wake Forest. I think it's called Against Happiness. He's not arguing for depression, but he is saying, like Ballerina here, that being less than happy isn't so bad. It leads to introspection and often great works of art. If we are over-scheduled with work and fun activities, we miss out on the kinds of quiet, private moments that allow us to grow in depth.
Yes, CEC you inerpreted my comment right. I am one of the biggest advocates for surrounding yourself with good and happy people. But no one can tell you how to be happy, it is something you must figure out on your own. What makes me happy is most likely completly different from what makes you happy and vice versa
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