I think a lot of people would benefit from the shift in perspective this comic gives. ...but... I've felt joy. I've felt bliss. But those feelings are ephemeral. Being "happy" implies permanence I don't agree with his premise that happiness is permanent and unchanging though. Why would it be? I think he's using happiness as a blunt euphemism for "a successful station in life" where we're given never ending short term goals to be measured against some kind of material criteria (test scores, grades, a job, a promotion, a boy/girlfriend, earnings, a car, a house....,) rather than an internal sense of well being (yeah and now I'm being obtuse and vague.) These things are ridiculously difficult to describe - "like catching water with a net". I'm eternally grateful I learned meditation in my mid 20s because that gave me an alternative perspective earlier than I think I would have found without it. That's part of what this comic is alluding to (reading a bit between the lines) as well as the idea of "flow" or being absorbed timelessly in your current activity. But I've never felt "happy".
I took a class on the psychology of happiness and we looked at the concept of "permanent happiness" as a reason why a lot of Americans don't consider themselves happy. If you reached "happiness" and then just plateaued forever, that would be a pretty shit existence. The class focused a lot on meditation and gratitude as a means of creating a longer period of happiness but obviously it's not going to stave off the low feelings we get sometimes.
It's cliché I guess, but it took me a long, long time to grasp the concept of yin/yang. How can there be only one side of a piece of paper? I read that life is defined by constant motion; up or down, forward or backward or in reality all directions and that the opposite, death, is just staticity.
When he says I think he's trying to say Maybe not 'permanent' but more than just a fleeting moment of 'this feels good.' Meditation is certainly helpful. I am on some sort of plateau, I don't seem to be making much 'progress' such as it is. I sit, become still, and then... that's it. I've been slacking in my practice lately because I don't feel like I'm deriving much benefit from it. My day is no longer radically changed if I spend 20 minutes sitting before I leave for work. I certainly have some problems with this piece, but I guess I like seeing that there are other people out there pouring their heart and soul into things, having varied interests, and who still struggle with the things I do. Makes me feel less alone, less atypical than I am.Being "happy" implies permanence
"Happy" implies a pervasive good feeling
That's literally everyone on the planet. Look - There's nothing novel in this, other than Matt's insistence on a straw-man argument against a false definition as prompted by the essay of a lying sack of shit. You said you needed to internalize this, so start with this: The difference between depression and normalcy is that you are neurochemically compelled to experience the lows more and the highs less. All us humans have much the same experience in life due to overwhelmingly similar circumstances, anatomy, chemistry and culture. Obviously there's a difference between a slumkid in Calcutta and Tori Spelling but we all wake up, we all poop, we all eat, we all talk to other people and constantly negotiate our place in the world. Sometimes this pleases us, sometimes this frustrates us. I know a girl who is off work this year with a "lupus-related disorder." I have never seen her not smiling. She's amazing. She's loved by everyone. I know one of her best friends who, for her entire life, has had a weird smile related to a giant bony growth on her face that didn't get removed until she was 14. She's always smiling, too. She's amazing, too. She's also loved by everyone. Now - a lot of that is upbringing. A lot of that is conditioning. A lot of that is a willful desire to be optimistic. But a lot of it is chemistry, too. If there's any truth in the article, it's that some people have less happiness in their chemistry than others. I mean, did we really need a 30-panel Oatmeal comic to tell us that? Some people don't have enough to get by, some people have plenty to share. What you got, what I got, what everyone else gots is worth noting and worth internalizing but fuckin' A, yo, you knew that in Kindergarten. Here's the take-away: People who are happy attract others to them. People who are not drive them away. I'm fuckin' salty right now - nine hours yesterday trying to get a phone system working on my day off. Haven't talked to my daughter in 3 days. The only thing to eat is frozen burritos and granola bars because I didn't have time to go to the grocery store yesterday and today I had to spend that time tuning the bike. But I'm not posting that shit in Pubski because who the fuck wants to hear me whine? It's bad enough to listen to me throw shade on Apple all day. Fake it 'til you make it. You will get no "happier" by dwelling in your unhappiness and holding it around you like a cloak. Whenever someone asks you "why aren't you happy?" they're really asking "what can I do to make your experience better because I want to spend time with you but it's hard." Depression is the act of driving away that which you need the most. And that is something you can work on, and definitely something to internalize. I guess I like seeing that there are other people out there pouring their heart and soul into things, having varied interests, and who still struggle with the things I do.
I was thinking about this yesterday in that fudgy segue into sleep. I've had experiences from meditation that I can only describe as peak experiences; deep, profound, emotionally measureless. The vast majority of the time though, it's mundane or a struggle or simply uninspiring. I think all of those are necessary. One teacher actually told me those uninspiring sessions are where true progress lies. (Progress is wrong but let's leave that for another time.) Also I'm with you, despite my disagreements and the chaotic scope of the comic, it's a fine conversation catalyst. It's good to encourage people to take a closer look at what their lives mean to them and wider yet, at what it means to be alive.
Yes. 100%. As useless as words are in that respect though, they're one of our best tools and I'd personally put music above words there. To convey feelings or emotions exactly is ultimately futile, but some people have the gift of crafting those words or music or images together that can unlock your own (perhaps similar?) state.
One can easily put into words the reasoning behind the way they feel, whatever the emotion. That, is easy. To describe the feeling itself, though? I think you're right about music and how it helps us relate our place in the realm we all share to another. We may not be able to reproduce what we feel in others - not yet, perhaps - because we all experience the world in different ways. What we can do is to channel the emotions into a work of art, whatever form it takes. There are stories as moving as the best pieces of music. Words aren't useless. They just aren't what we'd hope they'd be, given how powerful they may be at times.