Ive had a revelation... of sorts.
So... this has nothing to do with anything really, and yet... everything to do with everything...
Ive realized: We all NEED pain. pain, sadness, anger, negativity. We all need it. And when we dont have it, we crave it. Thankfully our minds control this, and let us become negative when we've had too much positive.
If this doesnt make sense, I want you to think about it. Has there ever been a time in your life where you were unarguably happy for an extended period of time? Of course there is always going to be bad, but really think. There are times when even the bad wont get us down, it just doesnt seem important in light of all the good. And so we become really, really happy. We're having a good day. Then that day stretches out to a good week. You find $5, you lose that weight, you feel God, you finally get past some obstacle. You just feel good. Then your week keeps going, you stay happy. Then you become content. Happiness starts to lose its excitement and become the norm.
Then things start to turn. You start wondering 'am I really happy all the time?'. Then you start to feel burnt out. You've been content for so long, and happiness has been your norm, you want that high again. You want to be happier, while just a few weeks ago, you were so happy you could sing from the rooftops (ok, maybe not that happy, but you get my point.). So you start thinking of ways to be happier. more of this or more of that. More stuff, more time to relax, more time to go out. So you buy something, or you take a 'you day', or you go to a party. But you realize that these things arent making you happier. So you start to feel sad, even though life is fine, and you dont understand why you're sad, you just are. Then you get angry with yourself for being sad when life is just fine. Life is just like it was a week ago, when you remember feeling happy (or at least you think you do). But right now, you're not... You're not happy, not content, you just want to feel good again.
We all do this to ourselves. The question is WHY? If nothing has changed about our circumstance, then why do we become unhappy suddenly? Why is it that we can look back at the past few weeks of happiness and wonder if we were truly happy, or just decieving ourselves? I think It is because we need sadness and negativity in order to truly appreciate the feeling and state of happiness and positivity. Otherwise we subconsciously (and sometimes consciously) cannot understand happiness. I've known this for a few years... well not known, but the idea has been with me ever since I had read C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain, but I havent ever really understood all of it, and all the implications of the idea when it was applied. The understanding just came to me tonight while thinking about a friends situation.
I realize this was all very convoluted, and that I just abruptly ended it, but thats all I've got thats even remotely coherent on the subject.
I'll have an update on my situation soon (like monday), so until then... exist peacefully.
I need to read more philosophy.
Ive realized: We all NEED pain. pain, sadness, anger, negativity. We all need it. And when we dont have it, we crave it. Thankfully our minds control this, and let us become negative when we've had too much positive.
If this doesnt make sense, I want you to think about it. Has there ever been a time in your life where you were unarguably happy for an extended period of time? Of course there is always going to be bad, but really think. There are times when even the bad wont get us down, it just doesnt seem important in light of all the good. And so we become really, really happy. We're having a good day. Then that day stretches out to a good week. You find $5, you lose that weight, you feel God, you finally get past some obstacle. You just feel good. Then your week keeps going, you stay happy. Then you become content. Happiness starts to lose its excitement and become the norm.
Then things start to turn. You start wondering 'am I really happy all the time?'. Then you start to feel burnt out. You've been content for so long, and happiness has been your norm, you want that high again. You want to be happier, while just a few weeks ago, you were so happy you could sing from the rooftops (ok, maybe not that happy, but you get my point.). So you start thinking of ways to be happier. more of this or more of that. More stuff, more time to relax, more time to go out. So you buy something, or you take a 'you day', or you go to a party. But you realize that these things arent making you happier. So you start to feel sad, even though life is fine, and you dont understand why you're sad, you just are. Then you get angry with yourself for being sad when life is just fine. Life is just like it was a week ago, when you remember feeling happy (or at least you think you do). But right now, you're not... You're not happy, not content, you just want to feel good again.
We all do this to ourselves. The question is WHY? If nothing has changed about our circumstance, then why do we become unhappy suddenly? Why is it that we can look back at the past few weeks of happiness and wonder if we were truly happy, or just decieving ourselves? I think It is because we need sadness and negativity in order to truly appreciate the feeling and state of happiness and positivity. Otherwise we subconsciously (and sometimes consciously) cannot understand happiness. I've known this for a few years... well not known, but the idea has been with me ever since I had read C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain, but I havent ever really understood all of it, and all the implications of the idea when it was applied. The understanding just came to me tonight while thinking about a friends situation.
I realize this was all very convoluted, and that I just abruptly ended it, but thats all I've got thats even remotely coherent on the subject.
I'll have an update on my situation soon (like monday), so until then... exist peacefully.
I need to read more philosophy.