Happiness was the topic chosen for the April meeting of my Cincinnati Contemplative Writing Group. Of the six of us, four of our essays referred to the pursuit of happiness enshrined as a right in our Declaration of Independence:
My essay turned into a research project. I will expand on this topic in my next few blog posts. This is my first installment:
I found a 2013 Time magazine article written by Jeffrey Kluger titled “The Happiness of Pursuit.” He points out that Americans have made the pursuit of happiness into a central mandate of our national character … “an almost adolescent restlessness, an itch to do the Next Big Thing.” Even though there is no guarantee we’ll achieve happiness, we are free to go after it in almost any way we choose.
Kluger points out that the kinetic nature of our modern world is making achieving happiness harder than ever. He cites a 1972 survey showing that only one-third of Americans describe themselves as “very happy” and a poll showing that Americans identifying themselves as “optimists” has dropped from 79% in 2004 to 50% in 2013. In our lifetimes, more than 20% of us will suffer from a mood disorder and 30% from an anxiety disorder. By the time we are eighteen years old, 11% of us will have been diagnosed with depression.
This gap between our optimistic expectations and our reality has, according to Kluger, spawned the vast happiness industry that has become big business.
Interesting that in our group of six, only one of us professed to currently being and always having been a happy person. Other terms used to describe our views on happiness included:
- superficial
- egocentric
- uninteresting
- highly overrated
- fleeting
- ephemeral
- elusive
- momentary
- over-used
- pressured expectation
Except for that one “happy” person in our group, we seem to be following the trend noted in Kluger’s essay.
What words come to your mind when you hear the word “Happiness?”
In what ways have you pursued happiness?
Where do you see yourself on the “optimism” continuum?
How would you write about this topic?
I look forward to reading your comments. More to come on this topic in future installments.
And by the way, did you notice I changed the name of this blog?
I just watched a video by Shawn Achor, who has written a couple books on happiness and I believe also has a TED talk on the subject. He discusses the many unexpected benefits of being positive and happy, You might want to add him to your research project..
http://www.shawnachor.com/meet-shawn/
Thanks, Carol,
I am familiar with Shawn Achor and positive psychology. However, I didn’t think of him and his work when writing my essay.
Good suggestions,
Linda
Happiness comes in bursts for me. It’s like riding a wave. When you catch the sweet spot, the wave carries you. There’s always another wave. I’m an optimist. Looking forward to your next posts!
Waves of happiness. What a lovely image, Jen,
I can see that you are an optimist. You take risks and believe in your ability to learn and grow from whatever happens. I admire that about you. I see you have a new webpage. I’ll check it out.
Linda
The true happiness that I feel is a sence of
‘
peace that I feel within myself even when things are not all going well around me. I have to give God the glory for this for as I grow closer to Him and follow His ways the peace seems to envelop me more and more. I am able to get out of myself and serve others which I know is a big purpose for my earthly life and it is all due to the Holy Spirit’s help. Praise God!!!
Praise God, indeed, Pat,
I think you’ll find some common ground in my future posts on this subject. Good to hear from you again.
Linda
It is quite possible to be happy but not at peace. Happiness and peace are entirely different things. One does not necessarily bring the other. Coming to terms with a difficult circumstance, for instance, can bring peace of mind and still not produce or allow happiness.
Barbarann, what you say speaks to much of my experience. Thank you for weighing in on this topic. Linda