what makes you happy?
an abundance of chocolate makes me happy :)
an abundance of chocolate makes me happy :)
Very beginning of Spring time. Dark blue clouds, thunder, heavy rain droplets.
Moist soil with green grass starting to sprout up. Starting to see the color in trees come back.
Moist soil with green grass starting to sprout up. Starting to see the color in trees come back.
this thread was meant for philosophy and religion, by the way :\
fixed. :)
another thing that makes me happy is lucas <3
wait...have you been saying my in place of me purposefully?
> wait...have you been saying my in place of me purposefully?
oops...
oops...
"fuck clothes" haha YEAH
a Fat buddasack.
warm sunshine on bare skin
Getting mail. Étrangère <3
getting close to done with my thesis
long, comfortable hugs
sigh, that sounds really good
Happiness is 6 drunk/stoned people crammed into a 93 Toyota Tercel driving around in the rain arguing at the top of their lungs about fiscal policy and individual rights while looking for tacos.
... sigh. I miss Kansas.
... sigh. I miss Kansas.
I am going to go with... without darkness there cannot be light. If it wasn't for the hardship and sorrow that accompanies life happiness would have no flavor.
So what makes me happy is surviving all the crap and getting to experience those moments that aren't crap.
So what makes me happy is surviving all the crap and getting to experience those moments that aren't crap.
Riding my bike on a hot summer night.
nny... "without darkness there cannot be light"
so we tell ourselves that pain makes us better off. how often do we ask survivors if they are happy they experienced the holocaust?
so we tell ourselves that pain makes us better off. how often do we ask survivors if they are happy they experienced the holocaust?
I agree with both of you. without any suffering life would be boring. but when I say suffering I mean things like death, accidents, etc. and not things that are realistically preventable like the holocaust or slavery or something. it's a tough line to draw though.
take cancer. it happens naturally. should we prevent it or does that detract from suffering and somehow therefore happiness? similar to what fsmart said, you don't ask someone if they are happy a loved one died of cancer. but on the other hand, the perspective on life you gain from going through something like that is invaluable.
maybe what you gain from suffering isn't necessarily happiness, but the perspective necessary to be happy after the suffering. where does happiness initially come from? is some initial suffering necessary to create the perspective to be happy, or can you be happy without ever experiencing or knowing of suffering? tough question.
imagining a world absent of suffering seems bland and boring. but I don't think that is a realistic goal. an arguably more realistic (and worthy) goal, I think, would be to prevent all realistically preventable suffering. but then what happens when death becomes realistically preventable?
take cancer. it happens naturally. should we prevent it or does that detract from suffering and somehow therefore happiness? similar to what fsmart said, you don't ask someone if they are happy a loved one died of cancer. but on the other hand, the perspective on life you gain from going through something like that is invaluable.
maybe what you gain from suffering isn't necessarily happiness, but the perspective necessary to be happy after the suffering. where does happiness initially come from? is some initial suffering necessary to create the perspective to be happy, or can you be happy without ever experiencing or knowing of suffering? tough question.
imagining a world absent of suffering seems bland and boring. but I don't think that is a realistic goal. an arguably more realistic (and worthy) goal, I think, would be to prevent all realistically preventable suffering. but then what happens when death becomes realistically preventable?
I'm not saying people can't be broken. There's limits to what any person should endure. As Aristotle put it, "Everything in moderation." I am a firm believer that people have their limits, positive and negative. Different for each of us, but I've seen people snap. I think we all have. At a certain point negative stuff can stop being healthy. The holocaust would certainly be an extreme case of that. But, love without loss would not be a human experience, and in my opinion would be a pale shadow of the experience.
That being said, I think the tragedy of our mortality is something none of us would feel bad about giving up. There is no benefit in the loss of a mind full of experiences, emotions, and contributions that bring value into our lives.
That being said, I think the tragedy of our mortality is something none of us would feel bad about giving up. There is no benefit in the loss of a mind full of experiences, emotions, and contributions that bring value into our lives.
Good post, nny.
hacking. traveling. great food. great sex. great friends. great food after great sex with great friends while on a traveling hackathon.
hahaha
Just don't try doing it all at the same time without throwing down a tarp first.
somehow that mental image just got extremely graphic
:) i like your comments ase and nny. I have been thinking a bit about this topic recently. i recently finished orson scott card's book the worthing saga. not to get into it too much but basically there is a world without pain or loss and worthing puts an end to that world by reintroducing loss. his argument is that without pain there can be no extraordinary people or choices. a boring pointless existence.
as a story-teller, i agree. as a human, i disagree. perhaps loss makes things still possessed more enjoyable by contrast. but i do not like any of the applications of this idea. is a rich man happy because the rest of the world is poor? are the living happy because everybody else is dead? are lovers happy because everybody else is loveless.
i like to think that i have many people i love in my life. do i need to experience the loss of one of them to really value them? a couple of weeks ago i went to the funeral of someone who was important to me as a teenager and retained some of that importance as an adult. i lamented her premature death, but i cannot say that i enjoy my still living friends more now.
as for happiness, i guess i think that mostly happiness is the result of a healthy body, mind, and environment. no part of suffering leads to happiness. though i think it commonly leads to the statement, "look how well off I am now. i should be happy."
as a story-teller, i agree. as a human, i disagree. perhaps loss makes things still possessed more enjoyable by contrast. but i do not like any of the applications of this idea. is a rich man happy because the rest of the world is poor? are the living happy because everybody else is dead? are lovers happy because everybody else is loveless.
i like to think that i have many people i love in my life. do i need to experience the loss of one of them to really value them? a couple of weeks ago i went to the funeral of someone who was important to me as a teenager and retained some of that importance as an adult. i lamented her premature death, but i cannot say that i enjoy my still living friends more now.
as for happiness, i guess i think that mostly happiness is the result of a healthy body, mind, and environment. no part of suffering leads to happiness. though i think it commonly leads to the statement, "look how well off I am now. i should be happy."
time for an econometric study.
It's been my experience, that with each loss of a person I care about, I lose a little more of the feeling of pain that is accompanied with it. That makes me very sad, and more than a little unsettled. People live their whole lives wrapped up in being whomever they are, or whomever they wish to be. But not everyone is as deeply missed as the next. I like to hope that something or some of the things that I do in my life, will persist after I am gone and be valuable to others. In that, I hope to capture at least a modicum of immortality. But, with each friend I lose, I feel as though I lose more and more of the things that made me value them, and my own life. That's not healthy.
But, I do find myself more and more appreciative of the fact that my immediate family is close ( though not always geographically ), and they are all still alive and healthy. And, just knowing that won't always be the case gives me pause ( to appreciate ) in the interactions I have with them. I have a number of friends who have held their close family in contempt, and seen them die far away and no longer a part of their lives. And, that's impacted them whether they will admit it or not.
I guess what I am getting at is, the experiences of loss associated with death, wear on you. And the older you grow the greater the losses will accumulate. And by the end of it all, I wonder how bitter and uncaring I will be. And that, is something that does scare me.
But, I do find myself more and more appreciative of the fact that my immediate family is close ( though not always geographically ), and they are all still alive and healthy. And, just knowing that won't always be the case gives me pause ( to appreciate ) in the interactions I have with them. I have a number of friends who have held their close family in contempt, and seen them die far away and no longer a part of their lives. And, that's impacted them whether they will admit it or not.
I guess what I am getting at is, the experiences of loss associated with death, wear on you. And the older you grow the greater the losses will accumulate. And by the end of it all, I wonder how bitter and uncaring I will be. And that, is something that does scare me.
> what makes you happy?
i'm feelin' extra healthy today, happy.
i'm feelin' extra healthy today, happy.