What is happiness?

[WerBurN]

ive been depressed recently, which usually gets me thinking about stupid crap nobody cares about, and one such topic that crossed my mind was 'what exactly is happiness?'

is it a state in which you find yourself in, uncontrollable by yourself, much like 'its daytime right now' or 'im happy right now'

is it like a sideffect (or possibly just an effect) of an action...like you are doing something that makes you happy, therefore you are happy...like flipping a lightswitch, which then in turn makes the lights go on...but then what if the wiring in the wall is broken, and flipping the lightswitch deosnt make the light go on one day?

is it a state of mind? i choose to be happy, therefore i am happy...much like 'i choose to stand up' and then you find yourself standing up...

...and then there is the question of do we have the right to be happy? how far are we allowed to go to attain this? for example, if i decide that happiness is a sideffect (as many do), and my lightswitch is drinking, is that ok? what of my job, my kids, my school, my parents? and then if you say that drinking is not a good lightswitch to use, what is? anything can be detrimental...if i play videogames too much, my school or job or lovelife could suffer, or if i play a sport, like football, is it not possible to play it too much and neglect other things? so then how far are we allowed to pursue a lightswitch...how far are we allowed to go to be happy? or should we always put others happiness before ourselves? but if we do this, and so deos everyone else, would anyone be happy?



...i have my own answers, however i want to hear what you guys have to say first

[A Lost Soul]

The thing about drinking is this: it may make you happy, but it's only a temporary sort of happy. No matter how much you drink, you will never really be happy. Sure it flicks that switch, but again, only for a few moments. Besides, there's a good chance you can wake up next to some hairy dirtbag with no memory of what happened the night before.

Happiness is aloof. I don't know that you can control it, per se. I wish I could tell you what it is, but it's like love. You can't explain it, and a lot of people believe that it doesn't really exist. I've been depressed for pretty much my whole life. The doctors say that somthing is chemically fucked-up in my head and my body just isn't working right. So I've been on medication for a while now. While I admit, it has helped considerably, I wonder if I'll have to take it for the rest of my life to be 'happy', or even 'normal'. I think there are different levels of happiness. When I listen to a cool song, I'm happy. When I hug my dog, or play with my cat, I'm happy. But when I lay beside someone I love deeply, it's a different sort of happiness. More profound, more inward and silent. It's the epitome of contentment... like I could stay that way forever and not even blink an eye.

I suppose some people feel that all the time, that they're content with the world and their lives. Other people don't. You pose a hard question for these times because we have to take into consideration our means of survival. We need money to survive. Therefore, do we need money to be happy? Is the richest man on earth also the happiest? Is the man who has found the love of his life and children the happiest? Or is a child the happiest, too innocent to know the harsh realities of this world?

You really pose a hard question. It's a thinker.

[WerBurN]

bleh, i always think about difficult things when im depressed :P ...but what i mean is this, if being with that certain special person makes you happy, why not ignore everything else in your life and simply be with them...what i mean is, how do you go about balancing responsibility with the things that make you happy? deos responsibility really matter at all, if you're happy? etc.

[jacobo]

happiness is in a moment. no happiness can last, all you can do is try to attain as many as these happy moments as possible and just live down all the crappy ones. -- find someone to share some happy moments with. find something, maybe an object or a job that gives you a sense of accomplishment. but nothing lasts forever, it just lasts as long as your interested in it.

[WerBurN]

do you really believe that adidas? im sorry you feel that way

[GestaltAlteration]

listen.... To be technical happiness is a single chimical in which activates whenever you feel the need to be happy (its simply a persons desire or Mind set that makes this chimical activate at certain things.)

Drugs like extacy can Distroy the gland that produces these chimicals and renders you... Unhappy..

Oh and I've been in the depression scene before... Exercise regularly eat right get up and active more are a few thigns that will get you better in no time.

[jacobo]

Originally posted by WerBurN
do you really believe that adidas? im sorry you feel that way

yip, and im not sorry. i find a lot of happiness in the world.

[phantasy]

I think happiness is what you make it, although happines can be found in common things such as the love of others, accomplishment, and so on.

If you let little things get to you, you won't be happy. So only worry about the things that matter. Certain things make certain people happy. Everything depends on everything else.

Don't worry about things that are unanswerable and you could never know. Such as your question, "What is happiness?"
You could make yourself sick with some answers. As long as you are happy and what you do is in line with your beliefs, just be happy. As the song, goes, "Don't worry, be happy."

BTW, what's wrong with saying happiness doesn't last forever? It doesn't, you have to constantly find diffferent things to make you content. But I don't think you should only think of happiness, or as I call it, the 'fun always syndrome'. Not everything brings happiness and you shouldn't try to make it so. Life is life, life is not happiness. There will be ups and downs, and you shouldn't think that you don't deserve either one of them.

[WerBurN]

but nobody has really said how much is too much...by the way, on a side note i believe that trying to be happy 100% of the time, even if you are successful, is bad, as the only reason that being happy feels good, is because you are sad sometimes...this is the main reason i say that i like to get depressed every now and again...makes you appreciate it when you arent...so again the real question isnt so much 'what is happiness' as we could get a million different definitions, since it really is whatever you make it out to be, but rather, do we have the right to pursue our own happiness, and if so, to what degree is this right allowed to be taken? its one thing to be happy, its another to be happy at your own, or worse yet, anothers expense...how far are we allowed to go to be happy in the now, and on the flip side, how far should we invest in future happiness? ie going to college could (for some) make the rest of your life generally better/more happy, since you will have more money (which for some equates some degree of happiness)...but perhaps you are miserable for the 5 years you go to college? well there are some people that spend their whole lives making their future better, without ever 'stopping to smell the roses' ....so, how to we balance the happiness in the now with the happiness in the future, and to what expenses are we allowed to pursue this happiness, either in the now or the future?

[icedawg]

Originally posted by adidas
but nothing lasts forever

"nothing lasts forever"

that statement itself is a contradiction, since it implies that there is some sort of force that forever exists preventing things from forever existing. or, if you'd rather, that there is a law that indefinitely exists stating that nothing can exist forever. regardless, if either of those can exist forever, then clearly it is proven that something can exist forever. this proves that statement cannot be logically proven true, thus, it is flawed and inaccurate. this simply means it is, indeed, possible for things to exist forever. holy crap, I'M AWESOME!


good day.

p.s. pessimistic people suck.

[WerBurN]

roflmao...tho icedawg, if you really want to get philosophical or technical like that, nothing can be proven to be true or exist with the exception of oneself as a thinking entity...sooo, ermm ya

[icedawg]

Originally posted by WerBurN
roflmao...tho icedawg, if you really want to get philosophical or technical like that, nothing can be proven to be true or exist with the exception of oneself as a thinking entity...sooo, ermm ya

logic is neither technical nor philosophical; logic is a boundary that encompasses all things (except, of course, for illogical things). :mrgreen:

p.s. (just to keep things on topic) happiness is...umm... well, it's...you know. hrm. i know! happiness is a field of sunflowers stretching on as far as the eye can see. there, i think that about accurately sums that up. :bigteeth:

[Serinanth]

Freedom.

The wind in my hair,
The ocean before my eyes,
The grass under my feet
The trickle of a river unseen to the eye, cascading underground, to the ocean below.
The feel of my sword as I slice the air, and the sound that accompanies it.

Drinking beers and hanging out with those that you would give up your life to keep safe, but if it ever came to that... fighting and staying for them. True Friends, and Family.

Alone cold and soaked, no idea where I am, scaling a cliff covered in brambles just because I want to see whats on the other side.

The stinging cold air of a winter morning filling my lungs, the mists of the lake still heavy, floating in my kayak bobbing on the quiet water, listening to the tinkle like glass of the iceflows around me as the little swells move them about.

Waking up, your eyes still closed, feeling the familiar warmth beside you and hearing the slow and steady breathing, of peaceful sleep.

Making some one else happy

Showing someone a picture, their breath is taken away and the look of awe is on their face. Just as it was mine as I saw the place with my own eyes.

Flight, under the clouds and through them, the cold thin air biting at your skin as you ascend through a cloud, water rolling off your wings as the cloud condenses around your body heat. Emerging into the pure light of the sun the clouds below you, the radiance of the light filling your being with a warmth and energy you have no words for, the feeling of the air pulling you upwards above your wings and the quiet rush of it over your ears. Bound by nothing observed by none but yourself.

[Aphius]

Those things are subjective though Serinanth.

To you that is what happiness may be, but to others Freedom and such might not be the key. What if an individual fears freedom. What if to be told what to do and not have to make choices for oneself make them feel safe, comfortable and happy? Others are afraid of flight and heights. Staying with their feet firmly on the ground may be what makes them happy.

One cannot define happiness as a certain thing because everyone has different things that makes them happy.

I'm not saying any of it is bad. it all sounds quite good actually, but what defines happiness for one person may not for another.

[WerBurN]

but still nobody has tried to answer the true question i am posing...read above

[Aphius]

The reason i haven't answered it is really because there is no real answer. You were asking how far we should be allowed to pursue our happiness, but no one can really tell you that. I guess you just have to rely on your better judgement to let you know when enough is enough. Some people would pursue someone who made them happy to the ends of the earth others think thats too extreme, though just an example its kind of relevant.

I guess the only answer fitting to what you want is another question

"How far are you willing to go and how much is enough?"

We cant tell you how far you should go to be happy, its something you probably need to discover on your own.

[WerBurN]

but i mean, what if i choose that, i want to go to any expense to make myself happy...well what if in doing so i am hurting others? emotionally or physically for whatever reason..is that right? is that ok? ...again i have my own answers, i just like to hear what others have to say...another perception is always welcome

[Serinanth]

I did not say it was happiness for you.. of course its subjective who else would I be answering for..... I figured that was kind of assumed that I would be answering for myself, happiness is an inward feeling I dont know what makes you happy I am not you..

It is a state of mind, I cannot choose what makes me happy, but I can choose to do things that do make me happy. It seems to be the byproduct of doing something that elicits a certain response within yourself.

Like what I said earlier, the experience of going out in my kayak makes me happy. As does the experience (that does not exist physically in this world) Flying through the clouds in my dragon form.

When am I depressed? or un happy? when I am bored and not doing anything when am I happy? when I am exploring the world, or making other people happy or keeping them safe...

You should not have to go to extrodinary lengths to make yourself happy and if you are hurting others in the process no it is not all right, its fucked up because how would you like for me to come along and do something to you that hurts you but makes me happy? You would feel like crap and that would make you NOT happy.

I dont want to get into a whats right discussion but I firmly beleive this. And It will come around and bite you in your ass one day. Going to lengths to be happy is ok, if you need to do it but like I said its not that hard a thing to do, you just need to go find what it is that makes you happy and if doing something that hurts others honestly makes you happy then I dont know... you are very different than myself and I do not understand you.

(*mutters* right now I am not happy as you can see =/ dont mind me I hope I didnt sound too much like an asshole)

[WerBurN]

lol...do remember i never said that this sort of destructive behaviour makes me happy...it was only a question lol...


tho i noticed one day...why is it that other people are willing to go to great lengths to make someone's future happy, but it isnt as important to make their now happy...ie a poor family scrapes and scrounges, and in turn suffers to some extent, so their child can afford to go to college...however that family would never think about buying that same child a computer game that cost a fraction of the cost, even if said computer game would keep him happy and preoccupied until he left the house...i know this is a poor example but i think you can see what i mean...why is it everyone is always soo concerned with making their future happy? why not be happy now? what is wrong with today? 'tomarrow will be better' ...howsabout today becomes better? eh? ...oh sry...started to rant there :oops:

[Serinanth]

Oh no werburN, i didnt mean you personally! sorry bout that..
You said to what lengths would one go and if it was bad for others would it be right and stuff... I guess I feel strongly about it thats all.


Hmmm good question about the future...

Being that now only exists and the future is just hope and dream.

A parent wants the best of their child... wants them to succeed, to surpas even them. If they beleive that saving up so a child can go to college will make that child sucessfull and able to earn more money sucess and money are supposed to make you happy...

And THAT is what is so very wrong with our society...

Money and sucess in the business world more often than not does NOT make you happy, the Uppercrust has the highest suicide rate of any financial demographic and the poor have the lowest..

Family needs to focus on now as well.. it should be the MAIN focus! if the parents are only focusing on the future than they are missing out on their lifes! we do not exist in the future!

[WerBurN]

...i feely strong about this now and later (hehe) business...see my parents always looked at the future...it was always 'you need to do this so you'll grow up and be happy' or 'work now, payoff later' ...they too worked and worked and worked, always looking at a brighter future...i live verymuch in the now...if i die tomarrow, what would all that planning for the future have gotten for me? however, you mustn ignore the future either...my personal belief is that, i will strive for the now, so long as it isnt detrimental to my future, however, i will also strive for the future, so long as it isnt detrimental to the now...see? people forget that second part...tho i have known people who live by the second part, and have forgotten the first part...it is these two rules in conjunction, that are my guidelines...as for how far i am allowed to go to make myself happy...these are only rules for the self...obviously i do not believe you should hurt others to make yourself happy, however i will not go out of my way to hurt myself to make another happy...this may sound selfish, but stop and think...when you make someone you love happy, deos that not, in turn, make you happy? in this way, in accordance with that rule, i would still help those i love to become happy, and to a lesser extent even strangers, as that too makes us happy, to a lesser extent...you see? ...mmmmm...ya :D

[Aphius]

Originally posted by Serinanth
I did not say it was happiness for you..

I didn't think you meant my happiness, i really dont think my happiness has anything to do with this. We were talking about WerBurN's happiness and the outlook thereof, i would not be so selfish as to turn this conversation to my own.

I just said that as it read more like a things that could make people happy thing to me. I just made a mistake, i gave my opinion on what i believed i read, but my previous statement still stands. They are your beliefs yes, and i respect that. I just commented on how others may have different perspectives on the matter.



Anyway, I agree totally that everyone puts too much thought into the future and neglects the present. It really isn't any fun to work like a dog now so that later you can have some money and regret not doing some things later on. As you said WerBurN "What if i died tomorrow?" nobody considers that in the great scheme of things.

You could work your ass off to get into university and die in a tragic train crash somewhere in between. Now how much fun would that be!? :| Not very much. I can tell you that. :)

[A Lost Soul]

Interesting. I think I have to change my response a bit.

If happiness is anything like love, I no longer believe in it. Thus, that would make my world a very, very dark place and there should be no reason why I am alive right now, writing this to all of you. I have tried to end my miserable life many times. But I'm still fucking here, and I don't know why. Just when I think I've discovered some speck of happiness that could be for me, the happiness bites me in the ass and says, 'Ha, fooled you! I'm not for you after all.' Serinanth has a point, your happiness should not come at the expense of another's. But that's the story of my fucking life. Everything in my life that makes me happy, even in the least, comes with such a high price that I either be the asshole and pay it, or live the rest of this shithole life unhappy. And therein lies a whole other problem. You only ever have yourself. I don't care how many friends you have, or how close your family is, they will NEVER BE THERE FOR YOU IN THE END! You are alone, a singular soul in this cosmic fuckup of a universe. That in mind, do you pay the high price and attain happiness? Would you truly be happy having paid that price?

My eyes are opening now. Put into perspective with the whole of my life, happiness does not exist. Love does not exists. Those are the truths that have been proven to me time and time again in this life, yet still I bang my head against that brick wall trying to attain both of them. I run on emotion, not logic, which is a very chaotic place to be and a lot of people don't understand my inner workings because of it. Frankly, I hate it, and i would giveup all my emotion for logic. But that's a whole other bag of chips. Someone once referred to me as 'a fiery turbulent inner emotional landscape.' I try to see the balance of existence: the light and dark, the eternal opposing forces that make up the All. Speaking of happiness and staying on subject, I am slowly beginning to lean toward the darkness again, because at least there I had something solid that I could grasp--power and control over a life that I didn't ask for yet remain stuck in until the gods see fit to take me from this body. And that is as close to happiness as some people will ever come.

Metaphorically speaking (for those of you who've read my riddle), I am giving up on that goddamn mystic apple forever. Let the other apples all fall to me as they should, for with my power I can shake them from their trees. This is my life, goddamn it, and I resolve to be happy with what I can get.

Woo. Little darkly poetic tonight, aren't I?

[Aphius]

Happiness and Love do not exist in the conventional sense. They are words. Something simple to mask that which has a deeper more profound meaning, you may not know it but someone out there will always care for you. It sounds like you have been through a lot of rough shit in your life. I respect you for being the kind caring person you are today. Dont give up your search for that talking apple! We could search for it together! With the help of true friends I'll give you a boost. and we WONT drop you. You are a friend to me and everyone on this board!

Yes, in the end we might very well be alone when it comes down to it. I suppose what it could come down to is, Do you have the courage to face it alone? We all have to face this choice at some point, but do you know what? I'll keep fighting and i know i can take some comfort in the fact that i have somebody who cares for me on this board and otherwise that may not be able to be beside me for whatever reason but i know that the my true friends are there egging me on in spirit.

Well, I know it seems hopeless sometimes but just remember Aphius cares for you and he sends you his love and strength. So no matter how dark the night becomes or how hopeless things may seem, the sun will always rise. Tomorrow is another day. You just have to wait out the night and good things will come to you.

Be happy and remember i care for you and i know others give you their undying support too.

[WerBurN]

yeesh...thats a very dark outlook LS...your life perspective is very different from mine...love not exist? i can see how you could see that, but happiness? how can happiness not exist? or rather you do not believe in it...but isnt that the same? hmm...you said that no matter how close your family or friends are, that they wont be there for you in the end...well perhaps it isnt a matter of closeness, but rather a matter of loyalty or character of your family/friends...i have three people that i can turn to, and have on many occasions, regardless of my circumstance or what it is that i need...maybe you simply havent met the right people...dreaming makes you happy, deos it not? that comes at no price...thats where i usually go when i cant find happiness in anything else...other than this (which deosnt really help), im not sure what to say...sorry i cant really offer better advice or help for you LS... :( :cry: :( ...im sorry that happiness deos not exist in your world...in my world, happiness is a decision, i choose to be happy, thinking about happy things, doing happy things...sometimes my world becomes overwhelmed by sad things or stress...but there are always places i can go, things i can do, that make me forget the sadness, not think about the stress...this forum is one of those places for me...or I can put my sadness into a song or a drawing, or I can relieve my stress in a videogame...for somewhere around 5 or 6 years, i had nothing to be happy about, nobody to be happy with, nowhere to be happy in, but i remained happy nonetheless...looking back, i honestly dont know how i was able to stay so happy, and i know that if i wasnt so happy about apparently nothing, i would not be alive right now...really the only answer i have as to why i was happy, is that i decided i was going to be happy, and nothing was going to stop me from doing so, and so i was happy...to this day, i choose to be happy, and it is very rare that i am even slightly saddened or disheartened...i'll usually get depressed for a few hours, before i remind myself that im happy...


oh and Aphius, this thread wasnt about my happiness, just happiness in general

[Aphius]

Originally posted by WerBurN
oh and Aphius, this thread wasnt about my happiness, just happiness in general

Fair enough :)

[A Lost Soul]

OMG. I don't know what to say. You completely robbed me of words, Aphius. You made me cry. Thank you. http://e.deviantart.com/emoticons/h/hug.gif

[phantasy]

Interesting repsonses here.

I'm not too into love either. It kind of sickens me how society, and mostly in the movies and books, put their faith in love...every bleeding time! Love is not a faith nor bond. It's only a feeling and feelings between people do not last forever. They are wonderful and so on, but they do not last.

There is something else there that causes my kindess, happiness and goodness, my faith in God.

Sorry to sound zealous and all, but a religion that is a way of life such as mine, that spirituality of it that causes me to act good and kind only because that is what God loves. Even if I dislike something, I will love it if it is something God loves.
Some people may not understand what I mean, but if something is a way of life, a way that does great good, then love and happiness come your way, even if there is nothing to be happy about.

And that's how I feel about it, this is probably not an universal thought.

[nerve]

It's only a feeling and feelings between people do not last forever. They are wonderful and so on, but they do not last. [/b]

I beg to differ.

[WerBurN]

im with Paperdoll on this one, but this topic isnt about love...its about happiness sillies! ...but phantasy, you begin to see what i mean...you chosoe to love those things that God loves, and whether or not they make you happy, you choose to be happy about it, and in such, are happy...see we can create our own lightswitches! this is what i mean

[will.i.am]

I was really depressed last summer so I wrote this little paper. Its like a prep talk now. When ever I'm really down, I just read this and feel much better about myself and about the things around me.

"As I sit here on the beach, I can only wonder. Is there something that I’ve been missing in life? I can hear it between the crashing of the waves, amongst the singing of the birds and behind the wind. I can see it in your eyes when it’s there and I know when it’s not.
What goes threw the mind of a finch [bird] as it sits in front of me? Why does he sing when I’m right in front of him? It’s the same thing that is between the waves, amongst the songs, behind the wind and in your eyes. Happiness. Happiness shapes us and makes us who we are and what we do, but more so, what we will become.
I’ve come to realize that nothing matters any more. I don’t need lots of money and a big house with a nice car. Nothing matters if I’m happy with who I am. The shirt on my back and the roof over my head doesn’t matter. I don’t need to be the smartest person or the most popular. I don’t need a good job that can pay for health care and has a good retirement plan. I don’t need anything if I’m happy.
That’s what I’ve been missing and maybe you have been too. You really need to step back and take a good look at yourself. Look inside and see what really makes you who you are. Don’t try to be something you’re not, because it’s not you and you can’t live a lie.
Now that I know who I am and what I need in life, everything will be much easier. It doesn’t matter if I bomb my next test or if I brake my arm. You too need to understand that nothing will matter as long as you keep an open mind and a smile on you face.
The only thing left is faith. Faith in yourself and in what you can achieve. You should be able to over come anything with this faith, I know I will. With this belief set, it will help pave my way, no matter how many twists or turn I take, because it won’t matter as long as I keep my smile and believe in myself."

-will.i.am


I really like the idea behind the "lightswitch" :D

[WerBurN]

thats exactly how i feel will...only not in so many words lol

[will.i.am]

haha, I guess I should have made a short version for you :)

[WerBurN]

Originally posted by will.i.am
haha, I guess I should have made a short version for you :)

roflmao! :rolllaugh: ..see thats funny...cause im exceptionally short..get it? a short version for me? bwahahahahah :lol:

...sry i have a terrible sense of humor :P

[Seeker]

woa, just looked in on this thread. Let me think about it for a while. I'll post my thoughts in the morning.

BTW, Great thread!

[WerBurN]

thankies :D ...more input = more discussion and exchange of ideas, which leads to personal enlightenment of and bettering of each of our seperate worlds that resides in each of our seperate heads...when 2 ppls perceptions touch, if only briefly, both peoples knowledge of their own world they perceive increases...oh, right...ranting again...hmm no-sleep makes ya do that alot :D

[icedawg]

Originally posted by phantasy
It's only a feeling and feelings between people do not last forever.

AHEM... a very wise (and rather dashing, i might add) forum member pointed out, a mere few posts ago, that there is indeed a doorway that provides opportunity for things to last forever. apparently you missed that. now you know. you're welcome. :bigteeth:


and this isn\'t directed at you, but to those that insist on spelling separate "seperate." STOP THAT! so help me, i will track you down and do very bad things to you if you don\'t! good day.

[phantasy]

Originally posted by icedawg+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(icedawg)</div><!--QuoteBegin-phantasy
It's only a feeling and feelings between people do not last forever.

AHEM... a very wise (and rather dashing, i might add) forum member pointed out, a mere few posts ago, that there is indeed a doorway that provides opportunity for things to last forever. apparently you missed that. now you know. you're welcome. :bigteeth:


and this isn\'t directed at you, but to those that insist on spelling separate \"seperate.\" STOP THAT! so help me, i will track you down and do very bad things to you if you don\'t! good day.[/b]

Lol, yah right....whatever!
I just think that people put too much faith in feelings lasting forever. Because humans are flawed and people shouldn't put faith in feelings of a flawed being....

[icedawg]

Originally posted by phantasy
Lol, yah right....whatever!
I just think that people put too much faith in feelings lasting forever. Because humans are flawed and people shouldn't put faith in feelings of a flawed being....

ah, yes, but every now and then one of us figures out how to transcend our fallacies that otherwise bind us.

p.s. did i mention the charismatic charm of that member i was talking about earlier?

[WerBurN]

phantasy...i jus think that people get what 'love' is confused...in my world the word 'love' deosnt mean the same thing as say 'lust' which is what alot of ppl nowadays think of when they think of love...love is the desire to want to be with someone forever, love is the intent to make that persons life happier, and love is the comitment to stick to what they origionally felt, even if things change alittle...or alot...

[su-chan]

Dude, you should read this story I just read for lit. You remind me of this story Gooseberries, by Anton Chekhov. Here. Let me get the book and quote.
At one point the main character is telling a story about how his brother wanted nothing more in life than a certain farmhouse with this and that and some gooseberry bushes... and in the middle is this cool quote (even if it IS translated from Russian and therefore probably a slight deviation from what it actually says):
...evidently, the happy man only feels at ease because the unhappy bear their burdens in silence, and without that silence happiness would be impossible. It's a case of general hypnotism. There ought to be behind the door of every happy, contented man someone standing with a hammer continually reminding him with a tap that there are unhappy people, that however happy he may be, life will show him her laws sooner or later, trouble will come for him - disease, poverty, losses, and no one will see or hear, just how he neither sees nor hears others.[/b]

not that it answers your question, it just came to mind because we just discussed it today. Maybe I'll let you borrow the book or something. but I do need it for class. >_>

[icedawg]

...evidently, the happy man only feels at ease because the unhappy bear their burdens in silence, and without that silence happiness would be impossible. It's a case of general hypnotism. There ought to be behind the door of every happy, contented man someone standing with a hammer continually reminding him with a tap that there are unhappy people, that however happy he may be, life will show him her laws sooner or later, trouble will come for him - disease, poverty, losses, and no one will see or hear, just how he neither sees nor hears others.[/b]

that's certainly a wise and profound quote; it, however, makes the incorrect presumption that happiness is, essentially, the absence of "unhappy elements." (i.e. "How can one be happy when there is so much wrong in the world? Clearly only ignorant people can find such happiness.") I think that's a skewed view of happiness.

[WerBurN]

its not a skewed view of happiness, its communist! silly ruskis lol...j/k tho ( no offence intended to either russians or communists ;p )

...ya, maybe ill come to your house (i know where you live) and steal the book (i know where you live), then you'd fail your lit class, and i'd still know where you live :P

[su-chan]

Originally posted by WerBurN
its not a skewed view of happiness, its communist! silly ruskis lol...j/k tho ( no offence intended to either russians or communists ;p )

...ya, maybe ill come to your house (i know where you live) and steal the book (i know where you live), then you'd fail your lit class, and i'd still know where you live :P

Yeah, but I could always um you know kick your butt.
anyway, I was wrong, it wasn't lit. It was my fiction-writing class. x_x So I'd not fail that because I could look up the assigned stories on the internet or something, and since the grade is based on the writing and not the reading, and it's pass/fail... :P

but you'd still know where I live :/

[su-chan]

Originally posted by icedawg
...evidently, the happy man only feels at ease because the unhappy bear their burdens in silence, and without that silence happiness would be impossible. It's a case of general hypnotism. There ought to be behind the door of every happy, contented man someone standing with a hammer continually reminding him with a tap that there are unhappy people, that however happy he may be, life will show him her laws sooner or later, trouble will come for him - disease, poverty, losses, and no one will see or hear, just how he neither sees nor hears others.

that's certainly a wise and profound quote; it, however, makes the incorrect presumption that happiness is, essentially, the absence of \"unhappy elements.\" (i.e. \"How can one be happy when there is so much wrong in the world? Clearly only ignorant people can find such happiness.\") I think that's a skewed view of happiness.[/b]

I rather like it, because when you read it in context, and know the characterization of the brother he's talking about (a very greedy man who pursued his final goal and attained it by any means), it makes more sense. If you read the story, it sounds more like he thinks happy people will end up worse off than he, who is miserable, will, because when they fall, they've got so far to fall from.
I enjoyed the story, personally, though most in the class didn't... meh, I don't know. I thought it raised an excellent point.

[WerBurN]

much like me...wow my life is gonna suck in the future...ive got sooo very far to fall :P

[Aphius]

Originally posted by A Lost Soul
You completely robbed me of words, Aphius. You made me cry. Thank you. http://e.deviantart.com/emoticons/h/hug.gif
It should be me who was robbed of words, :shock: I had no idea that i'd have that kind of effect. What i said was true and still stands.

Be happy everybody! http://www.enzaceliento.it/images/emoticon/Smile31.gif

[icedawg]

Originally posted by su-chan
I rather like it, because when you read it in context, and know the characterization of the brother he's talking about (a very greedy man who pursued his final goal and attained it by any means), it makes more sense. If you read the story, it sounds more like he thinks happy people will end up worse off than he, who is miserable, will, because when they fall, they've got so far to fall from.
I enjoyed the story, personally, though most in the class didn't... meh, I don't know. I thought it raised an excellent point.

There's no arguing that it's an eloquent, and well-written quote. I believe I've read that short story before in high school. Regardless, its message is still flawed and incomplete when removed from its context.

[Gaz]

Just because I may not be happy that doesn’t mean I am unhappy.

That doesn’t really make sense but I just think there are different levels of happiness. I don’t think a really strong feeling of happiness could last forever, the sort of feeling you may get on your wedding day ect.

On the other hand I do believe it is possible to have a level of happiness, which is maintainable. I think this sort of level comes from being happy in your self not through possesions and events.

There’s no reason to be unhappy.

No reason to chase after happiness if it makes you unhappy.

Just be happy (not unhappy) and take it day by day.

Actually that doesn’t make sense as well. :P