written from a non-spiritual point of view...What is life about? yes, yes so philosophical, but it´s one of the most natural questions to ask. Excluding those people with the luxury of deep and unwavering faith in a Christian god that demands a certain behavior and lifestyle, life would seem, I think, to be a pursuit of happiness, success or survival. Yet these three things have such subjective meanings.
Happiness is a fleeting sensation. Sure, there are scientific and psychological studies that pretend to whittle the mystery of gainable and sustainable happiness down to a list or process, but I pessimistically don´t think the achievement of such a thing is possible. But I have no reason to think that is possible, though, being that have lived what i consider to be a happy life until now. But my worry and doubt comes from the acknowledgement that the things that make me happy now will not bring me said happiness in the future. Sure, sports and reading and music will always bring me a degree of well-being, but will my current lifestyle, one void of want of nice and often material things, marriage, or children stay buried under the blissful protection of the charmed life that I have now? I have not suffered the life-altering shock that i have watched in so many movies, and I do not know how I will handle it when that assumed day arrives, whether it be news of cancer, death of a loved one, or prolonged impoverishment. It´s equally hard to define what exactly makes me happy now and why it does so. I think part of it stems from the human quality of finding happiness through sociability. For this reason, I count myself lucky to have been born and raised in the Southern culture that holds friendship and good times to a very high standard.
So, for some, wouldn´t success in life be equal to prolonged (dare i say permanent) happiness? This inferring that happiness comes with the absence of all things that reduce happiness: disease, pain and sorrow...etc. But when those things do happen, there seems to be two things that help immensely: money and or strong relationships with family and friends. I´ll try to skip over the cliche of money vs. happiness by saying that sure it helps, but is it a worthwhile lifetime commitment? Or is pride in one´s achievements, no matter how big or small they be, or the ability to improve other people´s lives while improving your own, a definition of success? For me, a combination of the 3 would be paramount.
And then there is the ancient definition of success: survival. It was so plain and simple then. But then we evolved right? Our interests, desires and mobility adapted and changed and we began to want more out of life than mere survival. We arrive to present times when our sheer technological and evolutionary advancement has given life, for most people, a plethora of paths, options, or meanings. Now i can define personal success as climbing a mountain or seeing 40 countries, when 100 years ago this was not factored into the equation. Now, i can define success by having my own internet business or reading 5 books a week on a Kindle. But, there still exist many people that only define success by putting food on the table, and this is what separates the West from the Other. But it is nice to know, that no matter how hard it might be, the Other still exists within my Western framing of the world, and that if need be, i can define myself in their terms, no matter if it requires a redefining of what happiness means to me. But hey, i don´t know exactly what that is anyway, i just know that it currently comes to me naturally, and i´m grateful for that.
Note: does this sound like a self-help article? I started writing with the intention of talking about boredom being the biggest obstacle in life, and that finding ways to cure boredom can ultimately lead to happiness and success. So would life then be about not being bored?...because no one wants to be bored to death.
Boredom is good. There is so much to explore in this world, so many stimuli, that sometimes having nothing to focus on is a treasure in and of itself. But I think you're right, volition is the ticket out of boredom that leads us to contentment, or at least to tasks (hobbies, etc.) which we enjoy. That spark that says, Pick up a guitar! or Sing! or Draw! or Move to Spain! comes when I'm bored, when things are quiet.
ReplyDeleteWhy live? Because we're here! Because we all share the same plight of bodies that slowly explode, of death and birth and joy and meaningful human connection and loss. Because this is it! We're here, for better or for worse.
I think there is something to be said also for the distinction between happiness, contentment, and pleasure. I believe that pleasure is fleeting and that sustained contentment begets happiness. Contentment boils down to believing that what you have now is enough. Not to say that you don't reach for new things, but that the reaching, the growing, the whole thing is enough. That you are where you want to be in life-- or at least, that you're enjoying the process of getting there.
Lastly, I think there is a definite biochemical component to the whole happiness thing, perpetuated and manipulated by things like food, exercise, activities, breathing/thinking patterns, and physical setting. That is to say, we are organic chemical machines, if nothing else.
I think a lot about this stuff... heh! If yer interested, here are some of my thoughts and studies on the whole having-a-human-body-and-probably-also-a-soul thing: oceanbreather.tumblr.com