Philosophical Musing #4 - Happiness
This is yet another musing regarding the topic happiness. There's this quote that I scribbled down a few months ago hanging on my window ledge, I'm not sure who said it, but most probably some wise old man. The quote goes "Happiness is not a destination, it is a method of life." I've been thinking about that line a lot lately.
It's a very true quote, isn't it? We all tend to see happiness as a destination. And maybe that's the problem, maybe that's why so many people are unhappy. For instance, just look at the concept of "happily ever after". It gives us the notion that after an intense victorious battle against the obstacles blocking our path to happiness, we finally each our destination and automatically become happy. However, that's not always the case. We know perfectly well that even after we reach our destination, we'll want and demand even more, or something will happen that will knock us out of our happiness destination zone. So how do we make happiness a method of life instead of merely a destination?
I think what we forget to do is to appreciate the things we already have in life. Last summer, I made a list of the things in life that I am grateful for. It got so damn long that I used multiple pages and I still have things to add to it, constantly. It ranged from not being disabled to having a great (but sometimes annoying!) sister to being able to read my Harry Potter books. Whenever I read through that list, it makes me feel like life is full of oppotunities, like I can accomplish anything I set my mind to, and it makes me feel very lucky and even happy.
So I think being appreciative more often of what we already have in life instead of sulking and constantly demanding more is one way of making happiness a method of life. Yes, one may argue that a person can have very little to be appreciative about in life, but that person would probably gain more happiness from being appreciative of what he or she has rather than depressing about what he or she doesn't have, yeah? Although I agree that it is indeed difficult to feel appreciative when you're feeling very low.
What other ways are there to make happiness a method of life? Enlighten me.
It's a very true quote, isn't it? We all tend to see happiness as a destination. And maybe that's the problem, maybe that's why so many people are unhappy. For instance, just look at the concept of "happily ever after". It gives us the notion that after an intense victorious battle against the obstacles blocking our path to happiness, we finally each our destination and automatically become happy. However, that's not always the case. We know perfectly well that even after we reach our destination, we'll want and demand even more, or something will happen that will knock us out of our happiness destination zone. So how do we make happiness a method of life instead of merely a destination?
I think what we forget to do is to appreciate the things we already have in life. Last summer, I made a list of the things in life that I am grateful for. It got so damn long that I used multiple pages and I still have things to add to it, constantly. It ranged from not being disabled to having a great (but sometimes annoying!) sister to being able to read my Harry Potter books. Whenever I read through that list, it makes me feel like life is full of oppotunities, like I can accomplish anything I set my mind to, and it makes me feel very lucky and even happy.
So I think being appreciative more often of what we already have in life instead of sulking and constantly demanding more is one way of making happiness a method of life. Yes, one may argue that a person can have very little to be appreciative about in life, but that person would probably gain more happiness from being appreciative of what he or she has rather than depressing about what he or she doesn't have, yeah? Although I agree that it is indeed difficult to feel appreciative when you're feeling very low.
What other ways are there to make happiness a method of life? Enlighten me.
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