Happiness

[PsychoSerenity]

It actually works. Starting the day thinking about dogs, or cats.

They're fuzzy!

[Audley Strange]

It actually works. Starting the day thinking about dogs, or cats.

They're fuzzy!

Shit, waking up enough for me. I live in a big flat with all modern conveniences, a fridge full of food, clean running water, I'm pretty healthy, I have a wife whom I cherish and a neighbourhood that's not on fire or being run by paramilitaries. What the fuck have I got to complain about really? Not enough ram on my comp?

We live in the West, most of us and we should all be very fucking thankful of that. Everything else is just pudding toppers.

[hadespussercats]

We live in the West, most of us and we should all be very fucking thankful of that. Everything else is just pudding toppers.

I heartily disagree with this sentiment. Living in the First World doesn't mean that all of our problems are "First World problems." And it doesn't by definition make the rest of our experiences trivial, either.

[Audley Strange]

We live in the West, most of us and we should all be very fucking thankful of that. Everything else is just pudding toppers.

I heartily disagree with this sentiment. Living in the First World doesn't mean that all of our problems are "First World problems." And it doesn't by definition make the rest of our experiences trivial, either.

No, but it still means that we have more facilities, opportunities and freedoms than most of the globe combined. If you add all the problems we may have (crime, illness, poverty) to things like war, starvation and totalitarianism, we are still much better off than most other places. I think we live in societies where our basic needs are predominately met, where the majority of us are comfortable, but you don't have to.

[PsychoSerenity]

We live in the West, most of us and we should all be very fucking thankful of that. Everything else is just pudding toppers.

I heartily disagree with this sentiment. Living in the First World doesn't mean that all of our problems are "First World problems." And it doesn't by definition make the rest of our experiences trivial, either.

No, but it still means that we have more facilities, opportunities and freedoms than most of the globe combined. If you add all the problems we may have (crime, illness, poverty) to things like war, starvation and totalitarianism, we are still much better off than most other places. I think we live in societies where our basic needs are predominately met, where the majority of us are comfortable, but you don't have to.

Material wealth does not necessarily do much to promote emotional well-being. In fact, western culture is a heavy promoter of both the Rat Race and Hedonist archetypes described in the OP, - it relies on them to push people into competition and consumption.

[hadespussercats]

Audley, there have been any number of times when I've talked myself down from some neurotic cliff by reminding myself that there are people with war in their countries. But that sentiment has almost nothing to do with happiness. If events had turned out differently, I could be drowning right now in a freezing cold North Atlantic tide. I'm not. Should I feel happy for that? Seems bizarre to me that I would.

[pErvinalia]

We live in the West, most of us and we should all be very fucking thankful of that. Everything else is just pudding toppers.

I heartily disagree with this sentiment. Living in the First World doesn't mean that all of our problems are "First World problems." And it doesn't by definition make the rest of our experiences trivial, either.

Although, there's nothing wrong with pointing out there's a lot of people in the world who live in abject misery.

[Clinton Huxley]

I think the emotional trauma from finding that the well one has been walking to for the
past last 6 hours only contains a cupful of parasite-laden water trumps the emotional
trauma from finding that the local shop only has full-fat coca-cola.

Material wealth allows us Westerners to moan about non immediately life-threatening concerns. No one in history has ever had it so easy.

[Audley Strange]

Audley, there have been any number of times when I've talked myself down from some neurotic cliff by reminding myself that there are people with war in their countries. But that sentiment has almost nothing to do with happiness. If events had turned out differently, I could be drowning right now in a freezing cold North Atlantic tide. I'm not. Should I feel happy for that? Seems bizarre to me that I would.

Yes, I say you should feel happy that you recognised as bad as things might have been for you they were worse for someone else and thus it stopped you from killing yourself. Hell I'm happy about that. However I was speaking of contentment. I said happiness is a fleeting emotional state earlier on.

What you say does not dispute that we still live in the best of available worlds Hades. Imagine you were on that cliff, your children had been shot, you had been raped and you had watched your husband be beaten to death by soliders? To extreme perhaps? Okay imagine then you were on that cliff, you were destitute, you were starving, it was 60 miles to the nearest drinkable water. Your situation would have been much worse, harder perhaps to compare to others tragedies.

Our societies are not perfect, nor the humans in them, but they are the best going. To me, we should be thankful for that. I think you should to, it seems to have saved your life any number of times.

[Kristie]

Happiness (or contentment, wtf ever)can't be based on comparing how good your situation is to others. It can make you feel good to a certain extent, but it's up to each person and their exact situation and emotions when not compared to others to be happy.

[pErvinalia]

I think the emotional trauma from finding that the well one has been walking to for the
past last 6 hours only contains a cupful of parasite-laden water trumps the emotional
trauma from finding that the local shop only has full-fat coca-cola.

Material wealth allows us Westerners to moan about non immediately life-threatening concerns. No one in history has ever had it so easy.

Yet happiness in many western nations is at relatively low levels for modern times.

[pErvinalia]

Our societies are not perfect, nor the humans in them, but they are the best going.

Really? I think happiness levels would be higher in some more traditional societies.

[Clinton Huxley]

I think the emotional trauma from finding that the well one has been walking to for the
past last 6 hours only contains a cupful of parasite-laden water trumps the emotional
trauma from finding that the local shop only has full-fat coca-cola.

Material wealth allows us Westerners to moan about non immediately life-threatening concerns. No one in history has ever had it so easy.

Yet happiness in many western nations is at relatively low levels for modern times.

Self-pity is like a gas, it expands to fill all available space.

[Audley Strange]

Our societies are not perfect, nor the humans in them, but they are the best going.

Really? I think happiness levels would be higher in some more traditional societies.

You may be right, certainly I've been in places where people have fuck all but goats and mud huts, who seemed more content than we do.

Why do you think that though?

[MiM]

Eat you gruel now like nice little kids everyone. There are millions of starving children that would overjoyed if they could have it