Happiness Is

Long-term HappinessIsElusive, or is it?

HappinessIs Contentment and Compassion

I searched for the links between happiness, contentment and compassion.

And Respect?

A colleague added the "respect" factor. This means self-respect, as well as the knowledge that you are respected amongst people who are important to you. Not sure whether I would agree this important contributor rank equal to the two factors I still revere.

I have learned that I can be content while living in horrible conditions. I did not like those conditions, but I found I could be content and accept them. "Pain is inevitable -- Suffering is optional" (seen on a T-shirt). The point is suffering is an attitude of unacceptance of circumstance. We tend to label great pain, both physical and emotional, as "suffering". But one can suffer considerably without either type of pain. I have a relative with a 6-figure income that has suffered for years because he can only think of people that make more money than himself. It is an attitude. On the other hand, I heard a missionary describe his departure from an Indian leper colony. One of the lepers, with tears in his eyes, hugged the missionary and said "I pray the Lord will bless you as much as He has blessed me." Attitude. Contentment. Happiness. -- BrucePennington

Assertion #1:

Happiness is not like Ecstasy. It does get temporarily masked by factors affecting the body and / or the soul. However happiness of the spirit is nurtured by long-term factors and therefore the extent of happiness is unaffected by temporary events.

If the assertion is correct, it also mean that one cannot set out to achieve more happiness overnight.

Perhaps if you handle a problem that has been hangling over your head for a long time in some permanent manner, you can help increase it overnight. I always feel like a major burden has been lifted from my spirit when I do so.

Assertion #2:

Long-term happiness can hardly be increased if you constantly "check your progress". Instead, it can be enhanced through concentration on factors that contribute to it, such as compassion and forbearance.

Assertion #3:

Pursuit of short-term happiness does not necessarily diminish your reservoir of long-term happiness. However one must check periodically whether such maneuvers creates leakage in the holding vessel. It is easy to puncture a hole and slow to be fixed up.

HappinessIs not Pleasure

Pleasure here refer to fleeting moments of emotional high, some lasting longer than others. Revenge against a person can be sweet, sudden fame or wealth can be highly satisfying, but there is always an anticlimax later on. One Oscar winning actress later revealed the emptiness she felt after the Awards ceremony, in a luxurious but empty hotel room.

Other pleasurable moments last longer, an example being the satisfaction felt after solving a difficult problem. But these too, will come to pass over time.

So the persuit of happiness is the quest to raise the baseline level of contentment, and that contentment is enhanced by our ability to be compassionate towards our fellow beings, since we are all basically a social animal.

Other observations

Re: beginning 

 Ask yourself this question, who is happier,
 The man who does not like his job or an unemployed who can't get a job.
 The man who is unhappily married or man who can't find a wife.
 Similar analogies show that HappinessIsElusive. Fulfilment of life comes from spiritual contentment not having lots of 'things'.
 This is a path of discovery, only you can make when you realize how important it is. (certainly more important than sex & money)
 This has nothing to do with any religion or science.
Re: #2

Essence

The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

Original source unknown, according to information at http://www.bodett.com/storyarchive/quoteme.htm

In the great zen tradition I have to say that happiness simply is...

HappinessIsaJourney?

In one of these numerous recent TV programs that discuss Happiness, it was observed the definition (accepted description) of happiness has changed through the ages.

The observation "Happiness is a Journey" merit more reflection. It may mean the moment we do not attend to the quest, happiness starts to slip away. Hopefully the journey we take, though via different paths, are ones that do not collide with other peoples journey.

When guided by the proper HigherPrinciples, HappinessIsaJourney? that you cannot get lost. You may get bumped into moments of despair by fate or own errors, but you always recover and get back on track.

Biology of Happiness

At mid 2005 the science and biology of Human happiness is still on the theory that happiness can be measured by the activity in "left prefrontal cortex".

And that the emotion of "happiness" can be trained, not by medical pills which can alleviate some symptoms of unhappiness in some situations, but by engaging in religious activities and mediation. Naturally occurring serotonin is supposedly released under these conditions.

"loving kindness and compassion" serves to enhance happiness.

HealthyBodyAndMind aspects

Heard this on DiscoveryChannel in 2004, and verified by a GoogleSearch.

No to drugs

From Happiness is in our hands link in resources section

HappinessIs an illusion perpetrated by the evil master control system with the diabolical purpose of trying to make us happy. Fight the flowery power! Rise up and feel low!

Free yourselves from the shackles of an enjoyable life!

Resources:

Scanning the monk at http://www.utne.com/cgi-bin/udt/im.display.printable?client.id=utne&story.id=11574

Happiness is in our hands at http://news.scotsman.com/print.cfm?id=617802005 Journal of Happiness http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/1389-4978/current Quotations for reflection on Happiness at http://www.quotegarden.com/happiness.html

CategoryWisdom

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