Suppose I started this off automatically with a clear definition over what happiness really is. It would result in a highly unlikely answer simply because everyone’s perspective on happiness would be different and could not be accounted to be true for everyone. According to Jane Kenyon’s poem, Simon Critchley’s critique, Douglas Preston’s encounter with the famous religious and political figure Dalai Lama, and Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi’s theory, each hold a different view on what happiness really means and why it is such a concern to people. Jane Kenyon in her poem Happiness published in Poetry magazine (February 1995), writes, “There’s just no accounting for happiness, or the way it turns up like a prodigal who comes back to the dust at your …show more content…
In “Happy like God”, New York Times, May 25 2009 he writes, “However frenetic our environment, such a feeling of existence can be achieved and as long as this state lasts we are self-sufficient like God.” Critchley is stating in his point of view that happiness is living in the moment and a feeling of existence and losing track of time. When he refers to being “self-sufficient like God” he means to be like God is to be without time and not worry about the troubles we hold and suggests to experience calmness instead. This is supported when Critchley writes, “I think that happiness is the feeling of existence, this sentiment of momentary self-sufficiency that is bound up with the experience of time.” Critchley quotes the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in Tractatus that “The eternal life is given to those who live in the present.” As well as quoting poet Walt Whitman in Leaves Of Grass, “Happiness is not in another place, but in this place…not for another hour.. but this hour.” Considering these two quotations they both suggest that one can truly live an “eternal life” if one focuses on where they are at right now and focuses solely on the present and not worry about the future in the sense that time should be lived in the moment. Critchley is really praising the virtues of the solitary person’s happiness in his …show more content…
Csikszentmihalyi is a social scientist who came up with the theory that consisted of a flow chart that acts as a “magnet” for learning by developing new levels of challenges and skills that helps with personal growth. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi became interested in the search for what kept people happy even after the World War when he was growing up and came up with this theory of flow. He writes that flow is whenever one gets involved in something so deeply that nothing else seems to matter that one loses track of time. It isn’t until after being so in tune to what we’re doing that one realizes they were happy in that point of time. For example, Csikszentmihalyi says, “ When we are in flow, we are not happy, because to experience happiness we must focus on our inner states, and that would take away attention from the task at hand.” Messing up the “flow” would mean if one were to stop during a basketball game while being in “flow” one would be distracted and could even mess up during the game by being out of tune. “One can be happy without experiencing flow” is also something he adds on to this idea and he states and explains that it isn’t until after the task is completed we can look back at what happened and be happy for the experience on what has happened. Some of the sources to happiness listed would be playing a musical piece, tennis, chess, weaving
Therefore, happiness is “what provokes us, incites us, need not come from our own time. Indeed, our own time may be and probably is so d
The philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” This famous quote compels people to question the significance of their joy, and whether it truly represents purposeful lives they want to live. Ray Bradbury, a contemporary author, also tackles this question in his book, Fahrenheit 451, which deals heavily with society's view of happiness in the future. Through several main characters, Bradbury portrays the two branches of happiness: one as a lifeless path, heading nowhere, seeking no worry, while the other embraces pure human experience intertwined together to reveal truth and knowledge.
Before we look into specifics, we’ll examine the history and development of “happiness” as a philosophy. Of course, the emotion of happiness has always existed, but it began to be seriously contemplated around 2,500 years ago by philosophers like Confucius, Buddha, Socrates and Aristotle. Shortly after Buddha taught his followers his Noble Eight Fold Path (which we will talk about later), Aristotle was teaching that happiness is “dependent on the individual” (Aristotle).
“The How of Happiness” chapter of Sonja Lyubomirsky emphasizes how making the happiness of our life and how it relates to our bodies. I realized the happiness is a part to contribute our life get better. It cannot deficient because it will make my life is getting depressed and sad. The determined happiness makes me surprise and interesting because that is the normal happened around my league. For example, the beauty and material wealth can make us feel happy. Although it is not a long-term happiness, it still can make us feel happy. According from the book, a wise (and rich) person once said, “I’ve never borrowed a significant amount of money in my life…[because] I never thought I would be way happier when I had 2X instead of X.” (p.45) That
Death is inevitable; if you want happiness in life, try A. Margaret Atwood, the author of “Happy Endings,” uses six separate short stories to depict outcomes with different scenarios. The author practices the use of flash fiction which adds to the entirety of each version. Though this short story has portions of unusual context, the content can teach a reflection on life. As the reader analyzes all six versions, the gender roles are evident as the story progresses. Atwood starts the short story by introducing the two main characters, John and Mary, and then proceeds to tell a variety of options as to who they are and what happens to them. In Margaret Atwood’s short story, “Happy Endings,” the central theme of fiction provides several different
The author understands that there are several factors that will or might not interfere with the pursuit of happiness. Into every life, adversity will fall; nobody is immune. every life also will receive its share of happiness. it 's the strategy by which one deals with the inner and external forces that may determine the quantity of joy present in one 's life. The author explains flow to be “the sense of effortless action they feel in moments that stand out as the best in their lives”. When I am with friends and family – the ones that I love, I am engaging in “flow activities” I get involved so deeply in the task that is at hand that there is no recollection of time. It’s as if nothing else really matters because of the happiness that I am feeling within myself. I took a trip with family to Miami last year, it was beautiful. When I was there, I had almost forgot all the day to day issues that I faced, the atmosphere and even the smell consumed me and took me to a place of euphoria. There is a “flow” to Miami that makes you forget everything besides what is happening in that exact moment. When a person can ascend the steps of challenges and skill, they
When we are engaged in "flow" we must be doing something that we enjoy, and as Csikszentmihaly so aptly states, "Allocation of time, presents difficult choices that eventually determine the content and quality of our lives" (146). It is important to note that these activities during "flow" are good only in small amounts; because in large doses can consume our lives and even be harmful. People who do spend large amounts of time on one activity will be consumed by it and not have room for anything else in their lives, so this can actually cause unhappiness. It is important to note that during a "flow" experience people have not been shown to have a increase in happiness, but only after the activity is completed they are in a more positive state. Over time small doses of flow can lead to an overall increase in well-being and happiness over a period of time doing these activities, Csikszentmihaly tells us, " The prerequisite for happiness is the ability to get fully involved in life" (150). From this we are able to learn and focus on building balance, happiness and we must experience everything life has to
He asserts that the present state of one’s happiness is derived from the past, present, and future. In his essay he places a hierarchy stating which period is the most important. Tatarkiewicz states that the most important period is the future, followed by the past, and finally the present moment is least important. These three periods weigh on each persons’ present state of happiness
The article discusses happiness and a few of the many complications associated with happiness. The article is named “Nation The Happiness of Pursuit.” The authors Kluger, Aciman, and Steinmetz wrote this article for “Time Magazine”. It discusses happiness in many ways, including details about what happiness is from a neurological and physical standpoint. The article begins by examining how Americans were happy in the past and
"The Futile Pursuit of Happiness" by Jon Gertner was published in September of 2003. It is an essay that discusses the difference between how happy we believe we will be with a particular outcome or decision, and how happy we actually are with the outcome. The essay is based on experiments done by two professors: Daniel Gilbert and George Loewenstein. The experiments show that humans are never as happy as we think we will be with an outcome because affective forecasting and miswanting cause false excitement and disappointment in our search for true happiness.
Happiness is an inner state of well-being and fulfilment, and therefore it has to come from inside. Every individual has his or her own emotions and way of thinking and as a result of this no one can really say what happiness is and what happiness is not. However, universally, happiness is a by-product of a healthy attitude and viewpoint. Happiness exists in everyone whether they choose to acknowledge and believe it or not. It is not rare nor is it something only the elite have: everyone has it but not everyone recognizes it. Contentment is finding a light at the end of every dark tunnel and in order to experience this we must ignore the pessimism surrounding us and remind ourselves that happiness is not a materialistic object but a choice and frame of mind.
There are many definition of happiness. For instance, family, friends, and memories. In Eduardo’s essay he asserts different types of happiness that is much more complex. Happiness is much more than having a pleasant, engaged and meaningful life. It may be important but not as important of being happy with you innersole. Happiness is an encouraging feeling ,which is influenced by many factors. German inventor once said , “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” This quotes represents it isn 't based on what we don’t have, it is what we do have and we need to appreciate and cherish life.
According to Webster dictionary the word Happiness in defined as Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy. People when they think of happiness, they think about having to good feeling inside. There are many types of happiness, which are expressed in many ways. Happiness is something that you can't just get it comes form your soul. Happiness is can be changed through many things that happen in our every day live.
But in this debate, one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life, but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant, but having it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties, but to attend a party with honor.
Happiness is a feeling that cannot be broken if strong enough, no matter how much sadness or hate is around you. Happiness can come from the smallest thing, for instance, music makes me happy and can easily change my mood, or when I am doing something I love my mood is easily changed. For others it could be whenever you do something well, or right and get recognition for it. It is the easiest feeling to be spread and given out but often neglected and forgotten about which is something we should all be more aware