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It is always a bit paradoxical to discuss articles like this over a message board where we compete for votes and the top comment haha. I often think that happi
by ericmcer 6y ago
It is always a bit paradoxical to discuss articles like this over a message board where we compete for votes and the top comment haha.
I often think that happiness is a shallow goal, and you leave a lot on the table if you are unwilling to suffer. Success and achievements are answers to that old question 'why?', they justify our existence.
Contrary to that, to paraphrase Gene Wolfe from Book of the Long Sun: "When something is good it needs no justification."
another relevant quote (just because!) from East of Eden:
"On one side you have warmth and companionship and sweet understanding, and on the other - cold, lonely greatness. There you make your choice. I'm glad I chose mediocrity, but how am I to say what reward might have come with the other? None of my children will be great either, except perhaps Tom. He's suffering over the choosing right now. It's a painful thing to watch."
- swsieber 6y agoI think we use the happy in too broad of a manner. There's at least two dimensions to happiness that I regularly talk about 1) ephemeral pleasure (candy) 2) longer lasting joy / satisfaction (legacy/friendships/service)
- maCDzP 6y agoI disagree, I don’t see happiness as a shallow goal. But for me happiness does not mean that I won’t suffer. Kids make me happy, but they also bring great suffering.
- arctangent 6y ago> where we compete for votes and the top comment haha I don't think this is the reason most people post here.
- nefitty 6y agoThere’s nothing like the rush of getting a post to the front page, even if it is vacuous compared to more difficult accomplishments.
- bjrobz 6y agoI love this comment
- chongli 6y agohappiness is a shallow goal, and you leave a lot on the table if you are unwilling to suffer I don’t think these experiences are mutually exclusive. Look at the face of a marathon runner for those last few miles. Agony? Yes. Determination? Definitely. Unhappiness? I’m not so sure about that. Plenty of runners will tell you they’re in their happy place when they’re out on the road, putting one foot in front of the other, for miles and miles and miles. Similar things could be said about the people who love spicy food, I suppose.