tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post4563997772156426278..comments2024-03-07T14:43:21.888-08:00Comments on Whatever I want to write about: The quest for happinessSriram Khéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06907731254833435446noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-66588332906679481472015-10-12T18:59:04.556-07:002015-10-12T18:59:04.556-07:00Ahem, I carefully noted "poorer" folks. ...Ahem, I carefully noted "poorer" folks. Not poverty. Not abject poverty. <br />And, yes, the materially well off people apparently have a lot more discontent and unhappiness triggered by their seemingly meaningless lives than the--note again--"poorer" people who are happier.<br />In the post, I did not refer to those who struggle in the conditions of absolute poverty.<br /><br />The formula for happiness has always been out there in the front and center.<br /><br />The ideals do not mean only living the life of a Platonic pursuit of the truth. No sir. The pursuit of the ideals can be of many types. As Edmundson points out, the Buddha preached that and so did Jesus. (I can only refer to the ideas with which I have at least a superficial understanding.) The ancient religions and the secular alike have always pointed out that happiness is right there in the life that is above and beyond a selfish existence and that happiness does not come via the material comforts. <br /><br />Unlike what you suggest, this formula has been loudly broadcast for centuries. It is just that we humans simply refuse to pay attention to that and then we complain about being unhappy! Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-83454466272925202232015-10-12T17:59:12.063-07:002015-10-12T17:59:12.063-07:00Intriguing post.
First I have disagree with "...Intriguing post.<br /><br />First I have disagree with "We work and earn money but are less happy than the poorer folks " That is simply another manifestation of the tendency to glorify poverty. There is nothing noble or happy about poverty. Poverty is abject misery. I don't have any study to prove it, but I would be willing to bet that without a certain amount of money for fulfilling the basic Maslowian need, happiness is impossible. Its possibly after the basic need has been met that there is difficulty in correlating wealth and happiness. Of course, what is "basic" to one is hardly enough for another and for some the "basic" is simply the chase of a rainbow.<br /><br />My intrigue was with the proposition that an "ideal" or a "truth" is the key to happiness. It may be noble but whether it will to lead to happiness is debatable. It may equally lead to enormous unhappiness, especially if it is unachievable or because nobody around seems to care. Great thinkers of the past have been very unhappy people.<br /><br />I suppose each person has to come to his own conclusion as to what will give him or her happiness - always done implicitly and sometimes explicitly. The formula for happiness, if one exists, is obviously outside the grasp of mere mortals. If it was otherwise, we would all have embraced it long ago :)Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.com