Happiness Project
Learning about happiness was very
interesting and encaging. It was a good project to start after being gone so
long and tied into my emotional work. This project helped me understand and
realize what real happiness is to me. I hope I can take this project and apply it
to the rest of my life. I’m glad that we did this project and looking forward
to the rest of my life.
Carpe Diem
Finding deep happiness today can be quite difficult, but finding happiness is very vital as humans. The reason it is so important is because happiness can lead to meaning and quality in life, longevity, deeper relationships, and better health. But are we truly happy? In America, people have money, cars, and big houses, but studies show that Americans are no happier than the rest of the world. In a study conducted by the United Nations, U.S.A is ranked ten as compared to Denmark and other Northern European countries. Americans have money and a multitude of material possessions but are no happier then other countries that have all these items. So what makes us happy? Happiness is a strange and complex emotion and being secure through social acceptance can lead to intrinsic happiness, and understanding that life is more than a clock we must start to realize that everyone deserves happiness no matter what their circumstance.
Security helps people become more happy and safe in their community. In the movie, “Happy”, Japanese women, who lived on the island of Okinawa, were very happy and lived genuine long lives. I see that these women are so happy because they are supported and know that if something happens, people are there to help them back on their feet. One of the Japanese women says, “I am all by myself. I do not have family. My neighbors take care of me.” This shows the support and care these women have for each other. With my family, I’m supported and I feel emotionally safe. This builds trust between us and we know if there is a problem that we can rely on each other. We all want to be happy and it is hard to achieve this; it can be daunting and in some cases difficult to find. With support and social acceptance, happiness comes much easier and meaning in life can be manifested gracefully. Being secure can be a key factor to happiness.
Helping others, building relationships, and personal growth are all called intrinsic happiness. Intrinsic is happiness from within, where as extrinsic is material happiness and is based on image. I have noticed that intrinsic happiness is much more rewarding in the long run, where as extrinsic is short term and shallow. A lot of people base their lives off of extrinsic pleasures. Does money and status make a happier person? Howard Zinn states, “The reality is that, you know, if you have two billion instead of one billion, you’re not twice as happy. But People are driven, driven to accumulate, accumulate, accumulate.” In the movie, “Happy”, the makers of the movie ask people what they want from their lives, the majority said money and happiness. Most people see that money and happiness go hand in hand. In today’s society most people only worry about money, but happiness can be gained in many ways. Which is more important, meaning or status?
Life is more than just a machine and people who realize that have a deeper meaning in life and more real happiness. Our society is being run like a machine and more and more people are feeling alone and isolated. We are told to be the star and to be better, more successful, more popular than everyone else, but in order to have true meaning, you need to be authentic with yourself and others. Happiness and meaning go hand in hand and without each other, life is dull and in some cases, not worth living. In my case, I have noticed that when I did not have meaning and did not know where my life was heading, I was sad and did not know what road to take. Finding purpose helped me to clarify my path. Some people find meaning through religion, community, relationships, and self worth. These help us find direction and help us define the true meaning of happiness.
For our happiness, we tend to turn a blind eye and are completely naïve to others welfare and their happiness. In the article, “Children of the Congo who risks their lives to supply our mobile phones”, most people have no idea the slave labor conditions these children go through. The majority of Americans will do anything for their false sense of happiness, even if it is ignoring the horrific conditions these children endure. It is not uncommon for people to base their happiness off of others suffering. In the short story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, there is a child who is locked away and the people say he must be locked away so their happiness continues. In this society, people can’t help the child and with some people it eats at their consciousness and they leave the society. In Omelas, they feel that one person suffering is better than the entire community suffering. This is similar to our society in that most people go with the flow and don’t think twice about their actions. Those who do address it can be isolated and left behind because they are different from societal norms. We all want happiness, but at what cost do we find it?
Happiness today is mostly extrinsic and authenticity with happiness is very low. How can we improve this? First we become real with ourselves. By being authentic with yourself, you can start to be authentic with your relationships. This creates a culture in which trust and happiness flourish. I have seen this culture on a personal level, and it is amazing. There were rough times, but our group grew from those rough patches. "The most perfect society is that whose purpose is the universal and supreme happiness." Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.
Carpe Diem
Finding deep happiness today can be quite difficult, but finding happiness is very vital as humans. The reason it is so important is because happiness can lead to meaning and quality in life, longevity, deeper relationships, and better health. But are we truly happy? In America, people have money, cars, and big houses, but studies show that Americans are no happier than the rest of the world. In a study conducted by the United Nations, U.S.A is ranked ten as compared to Denmark and other Northern European countries. Americans have money and a multitude of material possessions but are no happier then other countries that have all these items. So what makes us happy? Happiness is a strange and complex emotion and being secure through social acceptance can lead to intrinsic happiness, and understanding that life is more than a clock we must start to realize that everyone deserves happiness no matter what their circumstance.
Security helps people become more happy and safe in their community. In the movie, “Happy”, Japanese women, who lived on the island of Okinawa, were very happy and lived genuine long lives. I see that these women are so happy because they are supported and know that if something happens, people are there to help them back on their feet. One of the Japanese women says, “I am all by myself. I do not have family. My neighbors take care of me.” This shows the support and care these women have for each other. With my family, I’m supported and I feel emotionally safe. This builds trust between us and we know if there is a problem that we can rely on each other. We all want to be happy and it is hard to achieve this; it can be daunting and in some cases difficult to find. With support and social acceptance, happiness comes much easier and meaning in life can be manifested gracefully. Being secure can be a key factor to happiness.
Helping others, building relationships, and personal growth are all called intrinsic happiness. Intrinsic is happiness from within, where as extrinsic is material happiness and is based on image. I have noticed that intrinsic happiness is much more rewarding in the long run, where as extrinsic is short term and shallow. A lot of people base their lives off of extrinsic pleasures. Does money and status make a happier person? Howard Zinn states, “The reality is that, you know, if you have two billion instead of one billion, you’re not twice as happy. But People are driven, driven to accumulate, accumulate, accumulate.” In the movie, “Happy”, the makers of the movie ask people what they want from their lives, the majority said money and happiness. Most people see that money and happiness go hand in hand. In today’s society most people only worry about money, but happiness can be gained in many ways. Which is more important, meaning or status?
Life is more than just a machine and people who realize that have a deeper meaning in life and more real happiness. Our society is being run like a machine and more and more people are feeling alone and isolated. We are told to be the star and to be better, more successful, more popular than everyone else, but in order to have true meaning, you need to be authentic with yourself and others. Happiness and meaning go hand in hand and without each other, life is dull and in some cases, not worth living. In my case, I have noticed that when I did not have meaning and did not know where my life was heading, I was sad and did not know what road to take. Finding purpose helped me to clarify my path. Some people find meaning through religion, community, relationships, and self worth. These help us find direction and help us define the true meaning of happiness.
For our happiness, we tend to turn a blind eye and are completely naïve to others welfare and their happiness. In the article, “Children of the Congo who risks their lives to supply our mobile phones”, most people have no idea the slave labor conditions these children go through. The majority of Americans will do anything for their false sense of happiness, even if it is ignoring the horrific conditions these children endure. It is not uncommon for people to base their happiness off of others suffering. In the short story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, there is a child who is locked away and the people say he must be locked away so their happiness continues. In this society, people can’t help the child and with some people it eats at their consciousness and they leave the society. In Omelas, they feel that one person suffering is better than the entire community suffering. This is similar to our society in that most people go with the flow and don’t think twice about their actions. Those who do address it can be isolated and left behind because they are different from societal norms. We all want happiness, but at what cost do we find it?
Happiness today is mostly extrinsic and authenticity with happiness is very low. How can we improve this? First we become real with ourselves. By being authentic with yourself, you can start to be authentic with your relationships. This creates a culture in which trust and happiness flourish. I have seen this culture on a personal level, and it is amazing. There were rough times, but our group grew from those rough patches. "The most perfect society is that whose purpose is the universal and supreme happiness." Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.