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SFG75
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 Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:27 am Post subject: Is happiness normal? |
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Well, is it??
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Sitaram
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| Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:02 am Post subject: See: The Pursuit of Happiness |
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http://literarydiscussions.myfree...ic896.php&highlight=happiness
Thanks for all your terrific posts last night! I read them all.
Lincoln said "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
Happiness is a choice, a conscious decision.
Perhaps I can add to this post later. |
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Sitaram
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| Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:46 am Post subject: |
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But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads. - Albert Camus
Last edited by Sitaram on Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:43 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Sitaram
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Sitaram
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| Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:02 am Post subject: |
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Or perhaps, happiness is being Ernie the Attorney:
http://www.ernietheattorney.net/
I found this while searching for "What is Happiness"
I searched on "Is happiness normal" but got very few hits.
Ernie is a real person in New Orleans, a real attorney.
He had posted the following regarding happiness:
August 26, 2005
What is happiness?
And now, for your thoughtful consideration, I offer the following aphorism that one of my philosophy professors once uttered. It was offered as a throw-away comment, but somehow it burned a hole into my consciousness and I keep thinking about it.
See the happy idiot
He doesn't give a damn.
I wish I were an idiot.
My God! Perhaps I am. |
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Sitaram
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| Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:28 am Post subject: |
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Ernie recommends THIS blog, which looks like a really good read
http://gladwell.typepad.com/
I am rapidly approaching my goal of becoming Ernie the Attorney and achieving true happiness.
A Zen master said to the hotdog vendor: "Make me one with everything."
If happiness means becoming one with all, then Ernie is part of that all, so my becoming Ernie is one step in the right direction. |
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SFG75
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Posts: 133
Location: Nebraska
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| Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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It's interesting that you mentioned Abraham Lincoln in your first post.
This is what I see floating around the net a lot.
| Quote: | The value of perseverance has rarely been illustrated more
convincingly than in the life story of this man (his age appears in the
column on the right).
Failed in business (22)
Ran for legislature - defeated (23)
Failed in business, again (24)
Elected to the legislature (25)
Sweetheart died (26)
Had a nervous breakdown (27)
Defeated for Speaker of the House (29)
Defeated for Elector (31)
Defeated for Congress (34)
Elected to Congress (37)
Defeated for Congress (39)
Defeated for Senate (46)
Defeated for Vice President (47)
Defeated for Senate (49)
Elected President of United States (51)
That's the record of Abraham Lincoln! |
There is also some interesting material on him and his depression.
link #1
link #2
blurb for a book about Lincoln's depression
Lincoln is a great case of what depression can do for you. In his case, he
was motivated to examine his faults and to keep plugging away, even if
he did so with a black cloud over his head. He could've been a happy
country-bumpkin law clerk biding his time in Illinois. Isn't that why they
say ignorance is bliss? If you are happy and content, how do you get to
push yourself? Just some thoughts.
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SFG75
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| Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2006 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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It is the goal of many religions to cure people of bad thoughts and
feelings. There is the perception that when one gains entry into
heaven/nirvana, that all suffering, pain, and loss disappears and that we
will be in a state of enthrallment, that we will be like the perpetually
smiling idiot in the asylum.
| Quote: |
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need
no repentance. |
-Luke 15:7
Likewise...
| Quote: | Though he fills the universe, he transcends it. He is untouched
by its sorrow. He has no form. Those who know him become
immortal. Others remain in the depths of misery. |
Svetasvatara
As well as....
| Quote: | YUSUFALI: And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger,
to the people (assembled) on the day of the Great Pilgrimage,- that Allah
and His Messenger dissolve (treaty) obligations with the Pagans. If then,
ye repent, it were best for you; but if ye turn away, know ye that ye
cannot frustrate Allah. And proclaim a grievous penalty to those
who reject Faith.
PICKTHAL: And a proclamation from Allah and His messenger to all men
on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage that Allah is free from obligation to
the idolaters, and (so is) His messenger. So, if ye repent, it will be better
for you; but if ye are averse, then know that ye cannot escape Allah. Give
tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom to those who disbelieve,
SHAKIR: And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to the
people on the day of the greater pilgrimage that Allah and His Messenger
are free from liability to the idolaters; therefore if you repent, it will be
better for you, and if you turn back, then know that you will not weaken
Allah; and announce painful punishment to those who
disbelieve. |
And yet, what is our experience on this earth? I'll grant you that humans
seek comfort and desire to minimize pain. Humans do what works, and
humans like what works. We avoid that which hurts. At the same time,
does it not teach us the value of things? If we live an after-life, or the
reincarnation of another, does that not cheapen the experiences that we
have in the here and now? Great books and movies are best when there
is only one. Sequels end up cheapening the memory of a great
book/movie. Likewise, the value of a great life is that it is only lived once.
On top of that, it is depression and deeply-broding introspection that has
inspired countless writers, painters, and many other intellectuals to
perform their best tasks.
Dostoyevsky is one whom I am currently enjoying at the moment. Notes
from Underground has been very opening for me as many of the
instances I see reflected in my own life and experiences.
| Quote: | I don't understand a damn thing about my sickness; I'm not even
too sure what it is that's ailing me. |
(page 90)
Isn't that not which many people struggle with? That being uncertainty?
A good number of people are on preciption drugs. Countless others are in
psychotherapy. But who embraces it? Would a Van Gogh have been a
creative genius if the chemicals in his brain made him smile like an idiot
and content in this life to be *normally* happy like everyone else? Would
a Nietzsche have made the profound writings that he did had he spent his
time as a meditating monk talking about self-negation and that kind of
thing? Doesn't *sickness* force us to examine the world that we are in
and to realize perhaps the more transient things of this world?
Bring on the grievous penalty and the painful doom. I'll take seconds of
that painful punishment. For that is what makes you appreciate the good
things.
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