Happiness: a mental or emotional state of well-being defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.
I think to most people, happiness is the true ultimate goal of life. Different people achieve this through different means, but it seems to be a pretty universal constant. But sometimes happiness isn't welcome, it's a emotion you don't want to feel.
Today I started off in a blank state of mild discomfort and general emptiness. Some call this state depression, but for a lot of people this is just normal, it seems like they've always been this way. This ordinary and disturbingly satifactory feeling was disrupted when a certain green dinosaur from this very website showed linked to a almost neauseatingly happy and cute song (seriously listen to this, it's stupidly happy). For some absolutely unknown reason, this unlocked some hidden emotion that was equal parts welcome and unwelcome. Happiness. But why would this be unwelcome you might ask. Well the thing about the so called state of depression is that it returns whether you like it or not, and the feeling of happiness if fleeting. And the crash is worse than the high. It's a pattern shared by depressives and addicts alike. Once you've been up you want to stay up, and going back down feels awful. Addicts can get around this problem by always being high, just do more heroin or whatever and you're set for a while, but happiness often isn't as easy to aquire as heroin. It just kind of comes in little unexpected packages, like a dumb song or a silly joke. And it's a good and bad feeling.You come to dislike the happy because you know you'll feel like shit when you stop being happy. To dislike happiness is the most unnatural part of what it is to be a depressive, and it's the part that makes you the most afraid to get better at the same time for fear of tumbling back to earth, even though most people would consider what you know as earth to be hell, or more appropriately some weird state of purgetory that's both awfully comfortable and horribly discomfortable.
There's no real point to this blog, just a weird observation and realization I came to today. I hope others who have or do feel similar come forth a maybe we can help each other.
Well, your negative experience with listening to the song could also just be a result of your negative attitude towards it. On the most defensible account of pleasure I know of, pleasure is a function of pro-attitudes, not of sensations: If I have a pro-attitude towards certain sensations, I will feel pleasure experiencing them. So I can feel pleasure in the face of painful experiences (like during workout), if those experiences are ones I value, and likewise I can suffer in the face of 'pleasant' experiences, if those experiences are not welcome to me. Given that you describe the song as "nauseatingly, stupidly happy", it seems to me a clear indicator of not having a pro-attitude towards it.
This has as of yet nothing to do with happiness or emotions and I am not sure if I should address your second paragraph, seeing as it doesn't really have anything to do with what you were trying to convey, namely having a negative experience with something that is (at least supposed to be) a pleasant sensation.
As for me, I think we love to use the term 'happiness' in a very ambiguous way, namely both in the sense of feeling good ('feeling happy') and in the sense of leading a good life ('being happy'). Given this ambiguity, we love to just equate those two by saying that feeling happy just is nothing but being happy, but a mere ambiguous use of words is of course no argument. I'm not here to give detailed arguments for either side, so I'll just lay my cards on the table: I don't think having a "happy" mental state of one kind or another is sufficient for leading a good life, and I'm not even sure if it's necessary.
I hope you get better. I have nothing to add besides that sadness hits with its entirety pretty much always, while happiness comes in many volumes. Find your way.
i find playing Super Mario 3 and hearing the background music pulls me out of unhappiness... i think the key is to not consciously pay attention to the music.. just play the game.
Also, listening to early Led Zeppelin has a way of pulling me out of feeling "meh"...because the tone of their music meets you in the emotional place where you are feeling bad.
Final Thought On Happiness
"if you gave a human being the choice between being happy and being right... they'd rather be right" , Nathaniel Branden.
Disclaimer the only time i've ever felt depressed is after getting dropped by a gf. and i pull out of it in a few weeks. so i don't think my little stupid tips really apply to hard core depression.
In my opinion happiness is sustained well-being and while pleasure is gratification of the passions.-- stolen from "The Republic" by Plato. Anyway, there's a lot to be read on this subject
There are several traditions that deal with this sort of problem and recognize that happiness often causes pain. There is even a tradition completely focused on the dissatisfaction inherent in satisfaction: Buddhism. Traditional Buddhism has a fair share of magic in it, but there is something called "Secular Buddhism", which concerns itself with empirically verifiable claims and the non-magical insights of Buddhism.
If you are interested, start by searching youtube for the 25 minute university lecture called "1 - 1 Introduction: Religious Buddhism and 'Secular' Buddhism" Or, google "Secular Buddhist podcasts".
In case you know nothing about Buddhism, you can get a flavour of it in this excerpt from a Korean poem by the very famous Ko Un (translation by Taize & Kim): 이 세상 날마다 뒤밖뀌어 막 피어난 연꽃 한 송이도록 새로와야 해요 그게 부처예요
Day after day this world must be overturned and renewed to become a newly blooming lotus flower. And that is Buddha.
If Buddhism and meditation are too foreign for you, Epicureanism and Stoicism are Greek alternatives. There are obviously fewer resources on them, but for a taste: Epicurus said that the highest goal is ataraxia (freedom from desire or worry). He said living a quiet, private life with moderate pleasures was best. I'll let him speak for himself: He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing. Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends
The Stoic sages set their eyes on apatheia (absence of passion/suffering). They disagreed with Epicurus because they denied that pleasure was itself good, but they also disagreed with the Cynics because they believed that staying in balance with nature was important, and it was natural to pursue pleasures. So, they did not eschew pleasure or denounce it, but neither did they suggest anyone focus on it.
I'll let Seneca speak for the Stoics: The happy life is to have a mind that is free, lofty, fearless and steadfast - a mind that is placed beyond the reach of fear, beyond the reach of desire, that counts virtue the only good, baseness the only evil, and all else but a worthless mass of things, which come and go without increasing or diminishing the highest good, and neither subtract any part from the happy life nor add any part to it. A man thus grounded must, whether he wills or not, necessarily be attended by constant cheerfulness and a joy that is deep and issues from deep within, since he finds delight in his own resources, and desires no joys greater than his inner joys.
Best of luck.
edit: PS: clinical depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain and while you can certainly deal with it better if you equip yourself with the right lifestyle, there's no replacement for a professional, medical diagnosis and treatment.
hi, it is hard to open up and you did off topic: + Show Spoiler +
the id "set guitars to kill" seems a good "hors d'oeuvre" to this post by the way.
I think music is called the muse of all arts for the best of reasons: it transcends our very core, what we are.
Stupidly happy music is a medicine, no doubt about it.
If interested, you should try and listen to music that "made you" (say from 10 years ago or more..) and you will go on a introspective "journey" that you might grow stronger from (or only suffer from, sorry maybe don't, introspection is not for everyone (polite way of saying: people quit introspection as quickly as they can out of fear before they encounter something (anything) that really "touches"/hurts them)).
For me: this for instance made me cry. The memory of when/how I "met" that song (this), the subsequent internet search/discovering of that guy's life/journey, my own life at the time etc.. made me cry like a pup.
We are souls in torment, never finished never content, music is so powerful it will destroy/build mountains. Good music (the list of good uplifting/down-spiraling music is endless), that is, is why I am still here breathing and getting up each morning.
Stupidly happy music is sub par (albeit contending an "apparent majority"), however it is still so potent that it can have a huge effect on people, just be thankful.. if it got you that means there is still a soul in there that can/will come out. Listen to that feeling/impulse, opening up is good! While it hurts much more than staying alone in your own head/space, it is the answer, rather than the issue.
On May 16 2015 08:33 fluidrone wrote: hi, it is hard to open up and you did off topic: + Show Spoiler +
the id "set guitars to kill" seems a good "hors d'oeuvre" to this post by the way.
I think music is called the muse of all arts for the best of reasons: it transcends our very core, what we are.
Stupidly happy music is a medicine, no doubt about it.
If interested, you should try and listen to music that "made you" (say from 10 years ago or more..) and you will go on a introspective "journey" that you might grow stronger from (or only suffer from, sorry maybe don't, introspection is not for everyone (polite way of saying: people quit introspection as quickly as they can out of fear before they encounter something (anything) that really "touches"/hurts them)).
For me: this for instance made me cry. The memory of when/how I "met" that song (this), the subsequent internet search/discovering of that guys life/journey, my own life at the time etc.. made me cry like a pup.
We are souls in torment, never finished never content, music is so powerful it will destroy/build mountains. Good music, that is, is why I am still here (list is endless) breathing and getting up each morning.
Stupidly happy music is sub par, however it is still so potent that it can have a huge effect on people, just be thankful.. if it got you that means there is still a soul in there that can/will come out. Listen to that feeling/impulse, opening up is good! While it hurts much more than staying alone in your own head/space, it is the answer, rather than the issue.
Mmmm you cheat good sir.., and thank you for "answering".
You possibly missplaced my question.. I meant, why did you decide to use such an id in (arguably) your own "house"(past the fact that it "sounds cool").
The first time I saw your id, the fist thought that slapped my face was jimi hendrix and I remember (must have been during my adso, so about 2 years ago) I went back into listening to all guitar oriented stuff/shit from my "prime" (musical prime I mean). Thank you for having that id, it made me want to do so, well done, very clever of you to instill into others with just a word. So, what is "getting killed by a guitar"? + Show Spoiler +
Answer if applicable, dish if not
Edit: me smash typos if they are not funny/useful!
On May 16 2015 08:58 fluidrone wrote: Mmmm you cheat good sir.., and thank you for "answering".
You possibly missplaced my question.. I meant, why did you decide to use such an id in (arguably) your own "house"(past the fact that it "sounds cool").
The first time I saw your id, the fist thought that slapped my face was jimi hendrix and I remember (must have been during my adso, so about 2 years ago) I went back into listening to all guitar oriented stuff/shit from my "prime" (musical prime I mean). Thank you for having that id, it made me want to do so, well done, very clever of you to instill into others with just a word. So, what is "getting killed by a guitar"? + Show Spoiler +
Answer if applicable, dish if not
Edit: me smash typos if they are not funny/useful!
I just picked something really, just a song I liked at the time I made the account and I never planned or realized I'd be posting a lot so I just picked something.
Also, note that we're only setting the guitars to kill, much like in Star Trek they set their phazers to kill. We may or may not be actually killing anyone
On May 16 2015 08:58 fluidrone wrote: Mmmm you cheat good sir.., and thank you for "answering".
You possibly missplaced my question.. I meant, why did you decide to use such an id in (arguably) your own "house"(past the fact that it "sounds cool").
The first time I saw your id, the fist thought that slapped my face was jimi hendrix and I remember (must have been during my adso, so about 2 years ago) I went back into listening to all guitar oriented stuff/shit from my "prime" (musical prime I mean). Thank you for having that id, it made me want to do so, well done, very clever of you to instill into others with just a word. So, what is "getting killed by a guitar"? + Show Spoiler +
Answer if applicable, dish if not
Edit: me smash typos if they are not funny/useful!
I just picked something really, just a song I liked at the time I made the account and I never planned or realized I'd be posting a lot so I just picked something.
Also, note that we're only setting the guitars to kill, much like in Star Trek they set their phazers to kill. We may or may not be actually killing anyone
Well played
I guess I was hoping for another guitar killing link like this or even this<3
Edit: just in case there is any doubt in anyone's mind.. I don't think I'm being off topic (bad music generating happiness), I am only using good music as "more worthy" medecine/concept axioms for discussions/medication!
Happiness should always be sought after. For me, that is the purpose of life. Find the path to happiness (not just pleasure, but happiness as a state of being) and stick to it. It's something that requires self-mastery and ironically avoiding at times those things that would make us temporarily "happiness," but bring the crashes that you mentioned. If you can stay on the path without succumbing to the distractions along the way, happiness becomes a state, not an emotion.
Love this quote by da Vinci:
“You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself...the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment."
Happiness should always be sought after. For me, that is the purpose of life. Find the path to happiness (not just pleasure, but happiness as a state of being) and stick to it. It's something that requires self-mastery and ironically avoiding at times those things that would make us temporarily "happiness," but bring the crashes that you mentioned. If you can stay on the path without succumbing to the distractions along the way, happiness becomes a state, not an emotion.
Love this quote by da Vinci:
“You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself...the height of a man's success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment."
I would gladly agree that it is a "state" if I could only agree that being unhappy or "at an end" did not bear just as much fruit if not more..? Happiness? It is something to look forward to into or for others, while simultaneously (at best?) it is/should be your default state and you will intentionally leave that state to do ... mmmm .. other stuff ... Metaphorically extending earth's humans' boundaries could also be construed as a "happy" thing.. (so..) if you get out unscathed you are never "technically" unhappy (meh/tldr: endless debate)... + Show Spoiler +
"There is no spoon!" Matrix Neo
The da Vinci quote huh? I idolized quite thoroughly da Vinci. While I thoroughly embrace the former ("You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself"), I see no correlation that says "the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment.". Self abandonment .. no, no! (I mean that we are social mammals .. or anti social mammals, we are gauged/lynched/saved/killed by other people, we define ourselves from being with "other" people ("l'enfer c'est les autres" + Show Spoiler [translation] +
hell: it is other people
). On the other hand, I completely still agree with the former! As for paying respect, let me loudly admit that I secretly fantasize about going back in time to meet il capo di tutti capi the boss of the bosses : da Vinci!
You might enjoy my article about john stuart mill's utilitarianism and how ultimately we're going to launch an electric dildo supercomputer into space and mass nuke the earth, because that's what the greatest happiness principle requires. my article was written as a protest after a fight with my father so it's a little iffy at the start, but it gets pretty good eventually.
EPT
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