I found the article below over a
year ago on a blog I occasionally frequent and found myself again contending
with the notion of “happiness” in our Western, American “thin” manner (myth) of thinking. The more I hear people mention the idea of happiness, I recognize
that they are often referring to a cheap positive psychology that does not take
into consideration the seriousness of suffering, intellectual pursuit, nor an
awareness of the harsh realities that surround us on a daily basis. For this
kind and quality of “happiness’ is like the weather, it comes and goes; it may
stick around for a brief time, but then move on when a low pressure system
pushes in darker, thicker matter.Then what do you do?
We can begin to acquire this kind and quality of deepening,
sustainable gladness as long as we go back to the classical philosophical
understanding of an idea that is often translated “happiness”, eudaimonia (eudaimononia). A more accurate
translation is human flourishing which per Aristotle results in virtues that
nurture human flourishing (see “Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and
Classification”).
I interject “Teilhard de Chardin on the Power of Creative
Life” as a way of illustrating with imagery the level of “practice” necessary
to create human flourishing.[1] (The
bold face terms below in the shared article are interjected as connecting
imagery.)
Fire kindles life—
adopt,
model,
identify . . .
Rhythm of reality:
tireless
thought
dilated
heart
intensified
toil . . .
Thus labor creates—
unceasingly
purify
affections
remove
opacities
that
impede the light
Here are 10 exercises provided by Randy Taran, Founder and
Chief Happiness Officer of Project Happiness.[2] I have
linked terms from the above imagery in verse to emphasize the profound
practices, which without this linkage, they could be easily translated into
cheap happiness (my hunch) versus the deeply sought reality of eudaimonia or
human flourishing.
1. Know Your
Strengths: Ask 1 or 2 people who know you well and care about you what they
see as your 3 greatest strengths. Do the same for them. Then find ways to use
those strengths every day. Adopt
2. Choose your
Mindset: When something bad happens you can either choose to put yourself
down and succumb to the "inner critic" or recognize that the
"inner critic" is trying to get a foothold. Instead, look into what
there is to learn from the situation. Let's say a presentation didn't go well.
You can either say: "I'm always bad at this type of thing" (Dr. Carol
Dweck calls this the fixed mindset) or: "Next time I'll prepare and
practice more." (The growth mindset)
Which perspective will you choose? Assume (a virtue)
3. Gratitude:
Before you go to sleep, think of three things that you are grateful for: a good
conversation with a friend, a yummy dinner, finding that thing you thought you
lost ... whatever it is – whether small or large. Believe it or not, this
simple acknowledgement will actually change your perspective -- and your
brain! Model
4. Clean your
Lens: People that look at life through anger often encounter anger in
others. By the same token, happy people tend to bring out more happiness in
others and attract more of the good stuff into their lives. Keeping your lens
clear by being on the lookout for happiness [signs of eudaimonia] makes it
show up in the most unexpected places. Remove opacities
5. Know your
Happiness Triggers: Think of the top 5 times in your life that you have
felt happy and figure out the reason why these situations were "happiness
triggers." Which provided short term happiness, and which ones give more
long term meaning to your life? Try adding more happiness triggers into your
daily life. Identify
6. Connect:
Share an experience with a friend; tell each other the best thing that happened
last week and why. Relationships rule. Dilated heart
7. Altruism:
Do something nice for someone else. The fastest way to make yourself happy is
to make others happy. Purify
affections
8. Affection:
Hug someone or be hugged, pet your pet, hold hands, cuddle. Intensified toil (“Hugs” is a
simple way to point to the practice of touch physically and emotionally;
perhaps compassion)
9. Take it down a
notch: SIMPLIFY! Instead of multitasking, put one LESS thing into your
day! Purify affections
10. Remember your
Body: Give your body a break. Walk it around, give it some real food that
has not been turned into a sugar puff, pretzel or processed creation. Get some
sleep -- your mood, mind and body will smile. Remove opacities that impede the light
[1] Daniel Seifert, Based on ¶ 45 of “Pensées”
in Hymn of the Universe by Teilhard deChardin, 2012.
