Are you happy?
That?s a broad question and most of you will provide a broad answer.
The odd thing about happiness is the answer you provide is not concrete, what you answer today man not be your answer tomorrow or even an hour from now. Happiness is incomparable and contextual. But nevertheless a real and solid emotion.
Are you happy? What makes you happy? Consider the other end of the spectrum, what makes you sad?
Okay try to imagine that an alien came down from out of space with no knowledge of human nature. It sees the word 'happy' and asks you to describe what it is. What do you say? You'd use examples - "Happiness is the feeling you get when you get your paycheck" The alien may know what paycheck means and understand the value of money and all the technical things, but it will never understand what an emotion is not because it's an alien, but simply because you lack the means to describe happiness. Trying to describe happiness is like trying to describe the color yellow. Unless they have the means to see or in this case feel it, they can never know what it is. Because happiness is a universal emotion among animals, we don't need to describe it because we can all experience it.
So to answer your question RIOgreatescapist, there is no answer I can give you.
That?s a broad question and most of you will provide a broad answer.
The odd thing about happiness is the answer you provide is not concrete, what you answer today man not be your answer tomorrow or even an hour from now. Happiness is incomparable and contextual. But nevertheless a real and solid emotion.
Are you happy? What makes you happy? Consider the other end of the spectrum, what makes you sad?
For me, I suppose I am. Although I?ve learnt that happiness should be gauged at the end of your life, I figure that happiness is essentially an accumulation of everything you've experienced. However when you?re near the brink of death you?ll probably just delude yourself into believing you are anyway out of some desperate attempt to ease the finality of death.
For now... I?m happy I?m alive, my hearing is beginning to fail even at a very young age and I?m far from rich. But I?m content with what I have and I know in the future I am ambitious and competent enough to achieve more than I already have. I suppose what makes me happy is the prospect of the future. When I?m older and the prospects of the future begin to shorten I will have to re-evaluate my life. Until then I?m happy enough to know I?m not sad.
Hope that makes sense.
For now... I?m happy I?m alive, my hearing is beginning to fail even at a very young age and I?m far from rich. But I?m content with what I have and I know in the future I am ambitious and competent enough to achieve more than I already have. I suppose what makes me happy is the prospect of the future. When I?m older and the prospects of the future begin to shorten I will have to re-evaluate my life. Until then I?m happy enough to know I?m not sad.
Hope that makes sense.
That is a very good question.RIOgreatescapist said:
Okay try to imagine that an alien came down from out of space with no knowledge of human nature. It sees the word 'happy' and asks you to describe what it is. What do you say? You'd use examples - "Happiness is the feeling you get when you get your paycheck" The alien may know what paycheck means and understand the value of money and all the technical things, but it will never understand what an emotion is not because it's an alien, but simply because you lack the means to describe happiness. Trying to describe happiness is like trying to describe the color yellow. Unless they have the means to see or in this case feel it, they can never know what it is. Because happiness is a universal emotion among animals, we don't need to describe it because we can all experience it.
So to answer your question RIOgreatescapist, there is no answer I can give you.
