Since ancient times, most philosophies have preached that the goal of life should be to live a life of happiness and satisfaction. However both of there have been the most elusive of human endeavors. One of India’s neighboring Countries has even ventured to measure the Gross National Happiness of its people.
Happiness (joy) like all other human emotions is very subjective and relative. A famous writer wrote that he cried for shoes until he saw a man without legs. Human nature of seeking betterment and advancement from the current state of affairs has been the prime reason for most of our advancement. However, when human are blinded by ambition and sacrifice our inner place this very factor becomes detrimental to our well being. Buddhism preaches that desire(drive to seek/possess) is the root cause of all misery.
A moment of reflection on the positive and the bright side of all that we have been bestowed with can over whelm us with Joy. Bill Bryson in his book “A Short History of Nearly Everything” captivates the reader by welcoming him to the presnt moment. Bill Bryson reminds the reader about how lucky he is to be alive and tries to provide a perspective of all the challenges that could have prevented the reader's existence. Statistically the probability of any individual to exist is an unbelievably dismal. Every individual’s existence by itself is miraculous, but few appreciate it. One should not only be thankful to their parents, but to their entire ancestral lineage as well as the forces of universe which aided and facilitate their existence. Bill Bryson takes the issue at a microscopic level appreciating the atoms for functioning and constituting us albeit unaware of what they are contributing to.
Happiness has to been reduced from that abstract emotional feeling to a more tangible economical as social achievement. Few today appreciate a moment shared with their friends as family. The rapid intrusion of electronic gadgets and social media into our lives has made us to live a more detached existence. A recent study concluded that the more amount of time people spent on social media, the more was the probability of them being depressed. The selective exposure to information makes one feel that all others are doing better and increases the feeling of having been left out.
Today’s interconnected world has kept us contently wanting something as the other. There is a feeling of a constant craving for something, a desire for something better. Be it a mobile, as a car, there is always something news and more fancies and attractive. This inhibits the attainment of satisfaction. An uncontested mind is restless and unable to experience joy. The grass is always greener on the other side( read the cars are always attractive in others possession).
If one takes of few moments to appreciate things, the list is amazing and unending. Trapped in the quicksand of time, we do not have time to stand and stare, nor a second to spare. Karl Marx could capture their feeling of humans being reduced to a “cog in the wheel” with his theory of alienation.
Marx analyzed modern lifestyle and concluded that humans were detached from the product of their labor and hence unhappy. Although the theory has been well known for its materialistic interpretations and implications, the philosophical message of Mercian writings are deep. Marx believed that human unhappiness had increased because of this. He contrasted the detached urban life with country side living where people had time to pause and reflect and share time with one another and concluded that modernity and machinery had caused more harm than good.
Today few of us are grateful, if at all for anything. Humans have become inclined to take everything for granted. A famous poet quipped that today we know the price of everything but the value of nothing. In today’s modern era everything comes with a price tag. The assignment of an economic value has reduced everything to a superficial simplified number. When Bentham wrote that the “Greatest happiness of the greatest number” was to be given priority he quantified happiness as wealth and money. The capitalistic world that we share today traces its foundational roots to their utilitarian philosophies. Little wonder then that today we often mistake price for value and undermine the worth of many precious things including love, care and affection.
Children take the love showered upon them by their parents for granted. They are seldom grateful are scarcely joyous for the wonderful parentage their parents bestowed upon them. Though it is the duty of parents to take care of their children, the selfless love that they shower upon them is often unrecognized and seldom appreciated. The rising number of old age home is partially because of the take of this feeling of gratitude and joy.
Since ancient times, Indian philosophy (of darma, karna, artha and moksha) has preached the moderated practice of one’s pursuit by performing his duties alongside enjoying pleasures of pursing wealth and happiness.
Perhaps, more than ever before we need to pay need to this ancient advice and practice moderation in our lives. We should adopt the modal of 'thinking fast and slow’ in order to understand and learn to be more grateful and more joyous in our lives. Let us not only exist by live lively. Carpe diem.