On Happiness
What is happiness? Most of us probably don't give it much thought, except that we know when we're happy and when we're not, and most of us agree, the happier we are the better our lives become. But it's so hard to be happy when there's so much sadness around, right?
The funny thing about sadness and happiness is that they're like two sides of a coin. If one's life has been mostly happy and free from mental or physical pain, they cannot fully appreciate it because they have nothing to contrast it with. Conversely, when one's life has been very hard, they really appreciate the few moments that are truly happy. It's hard to know how much one has until they have something else to compare it to.
Although my life has been checkered with disappointments, hardships and pain, I may be the happiest person you've ever met. Not because my life is free of pain (far from it), but because the moments that aren't painful are so appreciated. It's hard to appreciate a good day unless you've had a really bad one. For some people, a boring day is a bad one. But for people who have to hide from bands of people with machete's or guns, or have to run for their lives and be afraid all the time, simple boredom would be like paradise. There are many people day who suffer horribly each and every day. Try to imagine how happy a condemned prisoner awaiting execution would be to trade lives with someone who thought a bad day was being bored.
We live better lives than any of our ancestors could have dreamed of. Imagine how hard it would be to have lived just 500 years ago. We didn't understand disease, there were no airplanes or ocean liners, and even a small injury could be a death sentence. Viruses like the plague wiped out one out of every ten people, and one of the most common cause of death was diarrhea or drinking bad water. Today we can communicate with each other instantly all over the globe, when only a few years ago that process would take weeks. Even I am old enough to remember mailing letters overseas and waiting three weeks at least for a response.
My theory is that the key to true happiness isn't always being free from from pain or disappointments, but keeping focus on the moments that make us smile and realizing how lucky we really are to be alive now instead of virtually any time in the past, or even now in other places in the world that are wrought with war and anarchy.
All we have, our entire life is the present moment. The future is only more present we haven't experienced yet. So many of us go about our lives dreading the tasks at hand and expecting or hoping for a better future, but we're wasting the better present that we already have (compared to most people who have ever lived).
Try closing your eyes, and smiling. Really, try it. Smile and think of something that made you happy. Remember a time from the past when you would have traded anything to switch places with your current self, sitting here, safe and comfortable, and free from worry, sickness, and pain in just this moment. Then try to enjoy this short time of peace and happiness in just this moment.
Repeat as necessary.
“Happiness isn't having everything you want; it's wanting everything you have”
-unknown
The funny thing about sadness and happiness is that they're like two sides of a coin. If one's life has been mostly happy and free from mental or physical pain, they cannot fully appreciate it because they have nothing to contrast it with. Conversely, when one's life has been very hard, they really appreciate the few moments that are truly happy. It's hard to know how much one has until they have something else to compare it to.
Although my life has been checkered with disappointments, hardships and pain, I may be the happiest person you've ever met. Not because my life is free of pain (far from it), but because the moments that aren't painful are so appreciated. It's hard to appreciate a good day unless you've had a really bad one. For some people, a boring day is a bad one. But for people who have to hide from bands of people with machete's or guns, or have to run for their lives and be afraid all the time, simple boredom would be like paradise. There are many people day who suffer horribly each and every day. Try to imagine how happy a condemned prisoner awaiting execution would be to trade lives with someone who thought a bad day was being bored.
We live better lives than any of our ancestors could have dreamed of. Imagine how hard it would be to have lived just 500 years ago. We didn't understand disease, there were no airplanes or ocean liners, and even a small injury could be a death sentence. Viruses like the plague wiped out one out of every ten people, and one of the most common cause of death was diarrhea or drinking bad water. Today we can communicate with each other instantly all over the globe, when only a few years ago that process would take weeks. Even I am old enough to remember mailing letters overseas and waiting three weeks at least for a response.
My theory is that the key to true happiness isn't always being free from from pain or disappointments, but keeping focus on the moments that make us smile and realizing how lucky we really are to be alive now instead of virtually any time in the past, or even now in other places in the world that are wrought with war and anarchy.
All we have, our entire life is the present moment. The future is only more present we haven't experienced yet. So many of us go about our lives dreading the tasks at hand and expecting or hoping for a better future, but we're wasting the better present that we already have (compared to most people who have ever lived).
Try closing your eyes, and smiling. Really, try it. Smile and think of something that made you happy. Remember a time from the past when you would have traded anything to switch places with your current self, sitting here, safe and comfortable, and free from worry, sickness, and pain in just this moment. Then try to enjoy this short time of peace and happiness in just this moment.
Repeat as necessary.
“Happiness isn't having everything you want; it's wanting everything you have”
-unknown
10 years ago
