Happiness is....
a place called Vanuatu apparently. Well, wouldn't you be happy if you lived in a beautiful south pacific paradise island, working in a seasonal job, whiling away long summer evenings with your family by the sea?
It doesn't take a genius to work out that money doesn't buy happiness. Nor does technology, material goods, or even education. Happiness results from the the knowledge that your life and your family is safe (so no poverty, wars, major disease epidemics), the feeling that you are making a contribution to something bigger (be that children, society, science, God) and the knowledge that you have equal treatment to your peers.
It's the final one that buggers up Western societies, as we are taught that we are equal to everyone in the world, and therefore we feel that we deserve the same as everyone else we see - new cars, designer clothes, fancy holidays etc, but can not achieve the same level of cosumerism as the media is telling us we need to be happy.
the list shows that life expectancy and a feeling of belonging are the two most important factors to happiness. The western world has systematically been eradicating the second one for over half a century. The only thing they could do to make us less happy is go to war.
Oh. So they did.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that money doesn't buy happiness. Nor does technology, material goods, or even education. Happiness results from the the knowledge that your life and your family is safe (so no poverty, wars, major disease epidemics), the feeling that you are making a contribution to something bigger (be that children, society, science, God) and the knowledge that you have equal treatment to your peers.
It's the final one that buggers up Western societies, as we are taught that we are equal to everyone in the world, and therefore we feel that we deserve the same as everyone else we see - new cars, designer clothes, fancy holidays etc, but can not achieve the same level of cosumerism as the media is telling us we need to be happy.
the list shows that life expectancy and a feeling of belonging are the two most important factors to happiness. The western world has systematically been eradicating the second one for over half a century. The only thing they could do to make us less happy is go to war.
Oh. So they did.
posted by Juggling Mother @ 12:07 pm
3 Comments:
At Wednesday, July 12, 2006 5:09:00 pm,
JR said…
I'm perfectly happy with my simple pleasures and puttering around my house. I have no problem living without the latest electronic gadgets or fancy new cars. They only time I'm bothered by my economic status is when people around me show off their new stuff and ask why I don't have the same. I say I have a life instead.
It seems inconceivable to most that I don't use credit cards. If I don't have the cash, I don't purchase something. I work for minimal wages, yet I can pick up my kids everyday after school and go to their special school events. I'm home every night by 5-5:30. I don't work weekends as a rule, but have come in once or twice for important cases. I'm not a slave to billable hours. I need to remind myself of these facts when I get depressed about how little I earn. It's a small price to pay to be able to be present in mine and my kids' lives.
At Wednesday, July 12, 2006 8:14:00 pm,
CyberKitten said…
I'm sure the Greek Philosophers said something similar... ages ago. What you need is enough so you don't go hungry or freeze etc... an adequate purpose in life and some good friends. I mean, what else could you want?
Do we really need (or even actually want) that 3rd car or the latest fad gadget..? No - in the main. What we all want is a decent life.
At Thursday, July 13, 2006 7:34:00 am,
Emily said…
I used to be a consumerist of highest proportions. These days I just don't care. I am happy to buy clothes in the local supermarket and TK Maxx is my friend. I always have this booming voice in my head when I pick something up saying "Do you REALLY need that." That's what living on a reduced income does but, really, I think it is a good thing anyway.
For example, my laptop blew up a couple of weeks ago. I loved it. But I can't justify getting a new one when we have a computer that works in the house. I could think of a million things we could do with the money a ibook would cost.
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so anal but, since having kids and saying goodbye to a big salary, money management is my bag baby!
As for war. Yep. It's crapola. My 19 year old sister is in the Military Police. She is seeing stuff in Basra I could only read about.
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