For the three of you that know me well (and countless, lurking ex-boyfriends,) you may want to sit down. This may come as a shock, especially to those who have asked me this outright
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I can't bring myself to believe that happiness equates to anything other than a lack of proper understanding of or attention to one's surroundings. Happiness is like god. I'm sure I'd like the feeling of experiencing it, but I don't see how I could experience it and not have it ruined by my utter conviction that that I was either fooling myself or being fooled, because there is simply nothing in the world to be anything but the most fleetingly happy about.
It also sometimes seems to me that true happiness is made impossible by the happy, which is to say that if those who are now happy (or even satisfied) could somehow be made to be miserable then there might be enough impetus to change the state of things to the point where actual non-delusional happiness was a real possibility - but in my darker moments that strikes me as being a terribly pollyannish thought.
Apples and oranges. You're talking about the personal value of one's reaction. By that scale, there's nothing worth having a negative reaction to, but this brings up the question of whether one is willing to sacrifice perspective for happiness. The individualist kick that Western society has Been on since the sixties would prompt one to say yes, because one is expected to be self-servingly happy above all things - emotional Objectivism. But at the cost of not only the collective good but also one's individual grasp on truth and perspective.
I had intended that the question be an apples to apples or oranges to oranges comparison, and I hoped that your answer would tell me which fruit we were dealing with
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Happiness is complicated. It requires breadth of scope and some duration in time. Most often it is the result of striving for and attaining something other than happiness itself
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Heh. I haven't been adorable for quite a while now....
I'm always up for visitors, but yes, scheduling will be tough. Come hell or high-water, I *will* be taking at least two weeks off in August to spend with The Kid at Fire Island. If you can deal with the crappy beach house, you are certainly welcome to come hang then.
At the moment, I'm not prepared to jump into the rest of this discussion. There's too much that needs to be done to indulge in a Nature of Happiness seminar. Maybe that's my problem -- too much practicality and not enough frivolity. I'm kinda like Steve Martin in Parenthood: "My whole life is *has* to!"
ooo. cranky cranky. Maybe a breakfast burrito would help.
LOL! I did indeed invoke the ex-boyfriend thing, but, I gotta say, you were not among the ones I envisioned were lurking....
I don't think I know the answer to those questions. It seems to me that if I did, I'd have a much better chance of getting there. But maybe not. I dunno. I think it might involve not living in NYC anymore but *that's* not gonna happen anytime soon. Unless I want to give up The Kid. Which I don't.
Howz tricks? I came across a tape of yours the other day. I was finally going to get rid of the box of cassettes that's been under my bed for the past 8 years. But I didn't. Don't even own a cassette player anymore, but I can't bring myself to get rid of them. Wackiness.
No, don't give up The Kid. But you knew that. That said, it seems to me that those are the questions for which you need answers. Dunno what to suggest beyond that.
As to tricks - life is busy. Chris is 2 1/2 and the grownups are both in school. I'm in my fourth year re-realized as a public school special ed teacher, which is never dull.
Sorry to have lurked for a while without saying hi. How was Asia? Let me know if you have a chance to listen to the Greenland tape - I think I've lost mine.
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I can't bring myself to believe that happiness equates to anything other than a lack of proper understanding of or attention to one's surroundings. Happiness is like god. I'm sure I'd like the feeling of experiencing it, but I don't see how I could experience it and not have it ruined by my utter conviction that that I was either fooling myself or being fooled, because there is simply nothing in the world to be anything but the most fleetingly happy about.
It also sometimes seems to me that true happiness is made impossible by the happy, which is to say that if those who are now happy (or even satisfied) could somehow be made to be miserable then there might be enough impetus to change the state of things to the point where actual non-delusional happiness was a real possibility - but in my darker moments that strikes me as being a terribly pollyannish thought.
Which is all a long way of saying that it is no co-incidence that Cat and Girl's initials are C and G.
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Is there anything worth being unhappy about, in any way other than fleetingly?
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I'm always up for visitors, but yes, scheduling will be tough. Come hell or high-water, I *will* be taking at least two weeks off in August to spend with The Kid at Fire Island. If you can deal with the crappy beach house, you are certainly welcome to come hang then.
At the moment, I'm not prepared to jump into the rest of this discussion. There's too much that needs to be done to indulge in a Nature of Happiness seminar. Maybe that's my problem -- too much practicality and not enough frivolity. I'm kinda like Steve Martin in Parenthood: "My whole life is *has* to!"
ooo. cranky cranky. Maybe a breakfast burrito would help.
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Hi, btw. You did invoke the ex-boyfriend thing, if I qualify as such. :)
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I don't think I know the answer to those questions. It seems to me that if I did, I'd have a much better chance of getting there. But maybe not. I dunno. I think it might involve not living in NYC anymore but *that's* not gonna happen anytime soon. Unless I want to give up The Kid. Which I don't.
Howz tricks? I came across a tape of yours the other day. I was finally going to get rid of the box of cassettes that's been under my bed for the past 8 years. But I didn't. Don't even own a cassette player anymore, but I can't bring myself to get rid of them. Wackiness.
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As to tricks - life is busy. Chris is 2 1/2 and the grownups are both in school. I'm in my fourth year re-realized as a public school special ed teacher, which is never dull.
Sorry to have lurked for a while without saying hi. How was Asia? Let me know if you have a chance to listen to the Greenland tape - I think I've lost mine.
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The conference room in Hong Kong was quite nice....
I do indeed have Greenland. I should digitize it, eh?
K. More later. Gotta get to work. Apparently, I may be taking my little project to Brussels soon.
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