Chasing Happiness

Recently, a good friend of mine sent me a piece about happiness. The gist of it was that when people chase happiness, they usually end of making themselves less happy due to poor decision making. It was an interesting premise and so I spent some time thinking about it. The first most obvious question to ask was if I'm happy? Yes, undoubtedly. Could I be happier? Well, at any given moment I could be intermittently happier but as a mean? No, I don't think I could be happier.

I suppose being happy means different things to different people. Given what I've seen in the world, I guess I set my bar pretty low. I have a roof over my head, plenty of food to eat, good friends, capable medical care and nobody's trying to kill me as far as I know. When I look at my fellow San Franciscans, I would guess that most, if not all of them, set their baseline for happiness considerably higher.

Some folks say that to set the bar low is to pave the way for underachievement. I suppose an argument could be made for that but I've always been pretty easy to keep happy and I don't think I can be accused of underachieving by anyone's meter.

Seneca said that a mindless bustling about is not industry. It is the sign of a hunted mind. I think that in our desire to achieve happiness, we are instead hunted by it. Instead of simply being happy, we ask ourselves how we could be happier. Instead of becoming a condition of peace, it has become our master.

When I was a teenager, I caught a beating from my father from reading the Tao Te Ching. My father insisted that the work was for men who had already accomplished something in life and could afford to be content. I didn't much understand the book, but I disagreed with him vehemently which then led to the beating. While I don't agree with his pedagoical style, I understand his fear. He confused happiness with contentment.

What's the difference? I think most people chase things in their lives because they think possessing those things will make them happy.

To quote Jay-Z:
How do you equate your pain?
Would it all go away if I bought you a Range?
I got two or three of those, nothing's gonna change.
If nothing else, you've got to live with yourself.

People achieve awards, diplomas and such for the same reason. I'm as guilty as the next guy for this. I thought, "Maybe if I get achieve one more thing, my father will love me." Or whatever. But I finally learned that his issues had nothing to do with the plaques on my wall. I could fill another wall and it would change nothing.

At the same time, I thought that my achievements might take me to a level of happiness that I've never experienced.

The Zen master walked into the main hall and said to his congregated students that one of their fellow students had achieved Enlightenment. After he left the hall, the students all ran to find their fellow classmate. The finally found him standing underneath a tree atop a small hill. Breathlessly, they asked, "Master has told us that you have achieved Enlightenment. How do you feel?"

The newly Enlightened student answered, "As shitty as ever."

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Happiness is less about pursuit and more about recognizing the blessings that you have.

I am truly blessed. I am embarrassed by my riches because surely, I do not deserve them.
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