Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Okay, now that I have your attention, my point is that happiness doesn't suck it's the desire for happiness that sucks.
Like in the bible where it says (by the way I am a LONG time atheist) that money is the root of all evil; where it actually says the desire for money is the root of all evil. Same with happiness. Too many people think the purpose of life is to be happy. It isn't. We're here to learn our earthy lessons. If you don't know where to look..... follow your pain.
I think being content is the answer, as happiness can come and go while being content can be a permanent or at least a semi-permanent state of mind.
All you need to be content is acceptance (of everything) and appreciation of what you have, not what you don't have.
I've had 43 surgeries, deaths within my immediate family not from illness and more awful stuff. People who hear my story think I should be miserable, but I'm not. I'm content.
I've always found, in my life, that with contentment comes happiness....though i can't be content without acceptance...big time!
happiness can be so different for everyone.
I agree that contentment comes from appreciating what you have.....why dwell on what you don't...or can't.
Being happy is easy if you want it...as easy as being sad (in my mind).
Last edited by purehuman; 02-21-2019 at 11:42 AM..
Okay, now that I have your attention, my point is that happiness doesn't suck it's the desire for happiness that sucks.
Like in the bible where it says (by the way I am a LONG time atheist) that money is the root of all evil; where it actually says the desire for money is the root of all evil. Same with happiness. Too many people think the purpose of life is to be happy. It isn't. We're here to learn our earthy lessons. If you don't know where to look..... follow your pain.
I think being content is the answer, as happiness can come and go while being content can be a permanent or at least a semi-permanent state of mind.
All you need to be content is acceptance (of everything) and appreciation of what you have, not what you don't have.
I've had 43 surgeries, deaths within my immediate family not from illness and more awful stuff. People who hear my story think I should be miserable, but I'm not. I'm content.
I agree being content is the goal. Then you can realize/accept that is happiness.
Read once the purpose of life is to endure....while I don't know it's the purpose, to endure is to accept what comes your way and make the best of it possible. That's life.
my often let down expectations for happiness sucks
life is misery pain sorrow with a few moments of happiness sprinkled in
You're the exact reason I posted about happiness. To me, it's "interesting" that people are miserable because they aren't happy. That makes no sense at all. No one's goal should be happiness, because you can obtain it for a while but then **** happens.
I don't know where people got the idea that the goal in life is to be happy. The goal in life is to learn the lessons that we are individually put where we are, in the circumstances we are in to grow in our understanding of how to become a more conscious being.
We cannot grow without pain. And for most people pain equals unhappiness, but if you had the right perspective, pain is your path to a better you. As I said, contentment should be our goal and acceptance is the path.
Okay, now that I have your attention, my point is that happiness doesn't suck it's the desire for happiness that sucks.
Like in the bible where it says (by the way I am a LONG time atheist) that money is the root of all evil; where it actually says the desire for money is the root of all evil. Same with happiness. Too many people think the purpose of life is to be happy. It isn't. We're here to learn our earthy lessons. If you don't know where to look..... follow your pain.
I think being content is the answer, as happiness can come and go while being content can be a permanent or at least a semi-permanent state of mind.
All you need to be content is acceptance (of everything) and appreciation of what you have, not what you don't have.
I've had 43 surgeries, deaths within my immediate family not from illness and more awful stuff. People who hear my story think I should be miserable, but I'm not. I'm content.
I don't think a true atheist believes we are here to learn earthly lessons. Following pain with no belief in the afterlife, wtf is that? a contradiction.
I don't think a true atheist believes we are here to learn earthly lessons. Following pain with no belief in the afterlife, wtf is that? a contradiction.
I know that there is a power that controls the universe. I choose not to call that power god. I know there is an afterlife through my experience with past life regression. I no longer have to believe.
In general, I agree with OP. It is no more normal to be happy all the time than it is to be unhappy all the time. There’s too much frenetic pleasure seeking in our culture, IMHO.
I will never forget one of the happiest moments of my life, decades ago, back in the late 70 I think, and it was just silly, really. I was living single at the time and was shopping at a mall. I stopped in a bookstore and saw that there was a new Gary Lawson joke book. This was just serendipitous because I was trying to figure out what to do with my evening. So, things were looking good. I bought that and as I was heading out of the mall, I passed a stand selling chocolate. I bought a small box of truffles there. I got home, brewed up some coffee and settled in with my book, coffee and truffles. I was literally giggling at one point I was so happy.
I decided after that that my personal simple definition of happy was wanting something strongly, anything at all, and getting it right when you want it. However, contentment is a wonderful state, having no pressing wants, worries, etc.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
