Eric wrote:
"Happiness is an often subconscious recognition of the
contentment that comes with aligning one's deeply held
priorities and values, and could be summed up with the
phrase 'all seems right with the world'."
Yes, I would add a few words to separate
pleasure from happiness. Generally, happiness
is more stable and not a short term event.
Eric again:
Happiness is therefore a relative state of being that comes
and goes with one's frame of mind and is somewhat dependent
on one's current circumstances, currently held beliefs,
values and priorities, and the amount of difference between
one's deeply held values and one's consciously stated
values.
Yes, taking this a bit further.. each person's feeling of
being happy is different and there isn't a simple definition
we can communicate easily. I think this is a major trap
that confuses this topic. Maslow showed how a child has
a different view of happiness and someone close to death
may have a completely different feeling and set of beliefs.
If we try to reduce happiness to a specific feeling, belief,
or way of acting it doesn't fit everyone. What fits is a few
general statements with balance. For example, we could say
that happy people have a sense of purpose. This is true up
to a point, but if taken to extreme it can create a stubborn
intolerant person. They only see one purpose to life and
soon slip into "i'm right and everyone else is wrong" state
of thinking.
Eric writes:
Positive feelings / emotions include love, contentment,
gratitude, enchantment, hope, achievement, security, awe,
etc. Negative feelings / emotions include anger, worry,
jealousy, hatred, fear, vengeance, etc.
These positive attitudes may not be the only face of
happiness. Another idea is that happiness is a process
seeking balance. For me, this process is identical to the
concept of an ecopath.
Some other clues that seem important today:
1. health (physical/chemical state)
2. diversity and balance (static states can be boring)
3. Quality of pleasures (be careful with drugs, consumption, etc.)
4. Positive cultural environment (happiness is relative)
5. Positive and realistic view of world (purpose and balance)
6. Education and growth (a closed mind is a form of death)
jeff
