roS8.16. HAPPINESS
HAPPINESS can only happen! It can't be chased or caught!
So those
who go in hot pursuit will likely end with naught!
The pursuit of
happiness, I fear,
is a quest that's quaintly queer!
If you want to hear it, before I get it recorded here, email me!
It's supposed to be a 4-part round.
16. I want to say more.... I've been reading HAPPINESS: a History by Darrin M.
McMahon. It makes me think.
I think I'm happiest when I feel healthy
and when I feel useful! But that is not the same happiness as
the happiness I feel when I succeed in acomplishing a very
difficult goal. Unfortunately, that kind of lift can be felt
regardless of the nature of the goal! For instance, I'll never
forget the elation that seemed to be felt by 'The Little Murderers' (in
the Jules Feiffer film) when they succeeded in the dubious goal of
killing innocent pedestrians on the street below! That kind of lift can
come only when we ignore the real difference between a short-term & a
long-term goal.
Long-term goals will always take into consideration
the consequences for everybody's well-being, whereas a short-term
goal can apply solely to the consequences for a single individual!
Of course, if I just want a quick lift for myself, I can always sing me
a happy song. Like Joy. But for a lasting
feeling of happiness, I must feel useful [& then it works even
when I'm not feeling healthy!]!
There is also another situation
which I can easily call happiness. It's when I'm with people I really
care about! (Inspite of my song,) I can (in a sense) make
happiness happen. All I have to do is get together with others.
It
may be because we are essentially social creatures, but I find that whenever
I want to try to make others happy, I can manage to bubble over happily
myself!
How about YOU? Please tell me where you agree or disagree with any
of the above. [So we can all live happily ever after!]
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