Being satisfied with what you have

[Sheltie]

 

I've been involved with many internet forum topics over the years that have generated strong visceral responses.  For instance, I enjoy discussing possible alien visitations and parallel universes and, for that matter, anything involving quantum physics thoroughly fascinates me.  Yet, nothing I have discussed has ever generated the strong gut reaction created when I try to discuss happiness.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/03/why-does-happiness-matter

Yes, I'm one of those people who believes strongly that being happy makes us healthier and more productive so if you want to call me a Pollyanna, be my guest.

What makes you happy?

      

 

 

 

[XenoFish]

1 minute ago, Sheltie said:

What makes you happy?

Can't answer that. I think happiness is overrated. It's a drug that people pursue, looking for the next hit of happiness. I'd rather have contentment.

[Sheltie]

3 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Can't answer that. I think happiness is overrated. It's a drug that people pursue, looking for the next hit of happiness. I'd rather have contentment.

I think contentment is absolutely the same thing, Xenofish.  You're worrying too much about semantics.

  

[Grim Reaper 6]

1 hour ago, Sheltie said:

 

I've been involved with many internet forum topics over the years that have generated strong visceral responses.  For instance, I enjoy discussing possible alien visitations and parallel universes and, for that matter, anything involving quantum physics thoroughly fascinates me.  Yet, nothing I have discussed has ever generated the strong gut reaction created when I try to discuss happiness.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/03/why-does-happiness-matter

Yes, I'm one of those people who believes strongly that being happy makes us healthier and more productive so if you want to call me a Pollyanna, be my guest.

What makes you happy?

      

 

 

 

Happiness for me is very simple, being able to provide for family is the most important thing to me, and nothing makes me happier, and this I have successfully done.. So no matter what else happens to me personally My family will always be taken care of. So when it's my time I can go to the grave happy, full filled, and content knowing what I have left behind for those I love.

Peace

Edited February 22, 2020 by Manwon Lender

[XenoFish]

8 minutes ago, Sheltie said:

I think contentment is absolutely the same thing, Xenofish.  You're worrying too much about semantics.

  

contentment

[ kuh n-tent-muh nt ]

SEE SYNONYMS FOR contentment ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the state of being contented; satisfaction; ease of mind.

Archaic. the act of making contentedly satisfied.

[TigerBright19]

I'm always optimistic and give practically every day a 10 out of 10.  The best things in life are free after all.  If I can look up and see the clouds in the sky, I'm happy.  If I can hear the birds singing, or the relaxing patter of rain drops against the window, or even just the general ambience of life around me, I'm happy.  Feel the fresh air enter my lungs, see a sunrise or sunset, and the moon glowing above at night, I'm happy.  I try to take nothing for granted.  We sadly live in an age of gadgets, addictions, distractions and selfish wants and desires.  Want has surpassed Need.  Life is pre-occupied with everything that we want, and very little that we need.  I prefer the basic wonders and joys that life has to offer us.  While many people are looking down at their feet at their tablets and phones, I'm looking up and marvelling at the beautiful architecture of the buildings, and the natural beauty of the world that surrounds us.  One of the most beautiful sights is presented every night as the stars twinkle and shine above.  It feels like the Universe is putting on a show just for us every night, and few even notice it.  The key to life is to take nothing for granted.  I've got no reason to be unhappy.  Even when something bad happens I still look on the bright side.  The glass is always half full, not half empty.  If I'm ever going through a bad patch in life I just mark the day down 1 notch, so instead of giving that day a 10/10 I give 9/10 and I usually give myself a 10 percent window each day so that all negative actions and emotions can be bottled into that 10 percent, which always leaves me with 90 percent of happiness for the day, which feels great.  Staying positive no matter what the situation.  I also believe that life is a test and the entire history and future of our planet is like a grain of sand when compared to what awaits us in eternity.  Life is but a drop in the ocean.  We should love and embrace it as much as we can.  We've all been blessed with life for a reason.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Aaron2016

[+and-then]

16 minutes ago, Aaron2016 said:

We should love and embrace it as much as we can.  We've all been blessed with life for a reason.

As a younger person, I'd have demurred with this attitude.  Now that I know I'm closer to the end than the beginning, I realize just how much a gift it is to wake up and be ABLE to get out of bed and pass the day.  It's a miracle in so many ways.  I'm not always delighted at the end of the day but I am thankful...always thankful.  I can't help thinking I'd have been much happier in early life had I understood this.

[Grim Reaper 6]

3 minutes ago, and then said:

As a younger person, I'd have demurred with this attitude.  Now that I know I'm closer to the end than the beginning, I realize just how much a gift it is to wake up and be ABLE to get out of bed and pass the day.  It's a miracle in so many ways.  I'm not always delighted at the end of the day but I am thankful...always thankful.  I can't help thinking I'd have been much happier in early life had I understood this.

Well said Partner.

Peace

[XenoFish]

Eww optimism. 

[Dejarma]

I watched a documentary many years ago where a Brazilian sewer child was talking about moving up the hierarchy (due to another child being murdered) & can now sleep in the murdered child's place where his feet are not dangling in flowing sh+t== he was happy

[Crikey]

2 hours ago, Sheltie said:

Yes, I'm one of those people who believes strongly that being happy makes us healthier and more productive so if you want to call me a Pollyanna, be my guest.

What makes you happy?

Speaking personally as a Christian I've got zilch to be un-happy about..

Grim Reaper- "You'll end up here"

Me- "Nah, on yer bike chum"..

Edited February 22, 2020 by Crikey

[Dejarma]

2 minutes ago, Crikey said:

Speaking personally as a Christian I've got zilch to be un-happy about..

fair enough

[Crikey]

People tend to take things for granted nowadays, not me though.

From my window in Plymouth I can see the Cattedown cliffs  across the river where cavemen lived and struggled to survive, so every time I nip down the grocers to stock up with a rucksack full of goodies (food, drink, jelly babies etc), I can't help thinking how lucky I am not to have the hassle of having to hunt or fish for it like them poor slobs across the river, and that makes me very happy..

Same with electric lighting, heating and cooking at home, it can be done at the touch of a switch without having to rub sticks together to make a fire, that makes me happy too..

Likewise we've got computers and TV for entertainment etc, so when I sit down with my popcorn to watch 'The Waltons' or 'Women on Death Row', that makes me happy too..

PS- These are the Cattedown cliffs-

 

And this is one of the geezers who hung there, I wonder if he's an ancestor of mine, I can certainly see a family resemblance..

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Crikey

[+and-then]

38 minutes ago, Crikey said:

People tend to take things for granted nowadays, not me though.

I'd slowly developed the habit of being mindless or ungrateful but one day I woke up from an alcohol-induced meltdown and realized that I'd lost everything.  Job, family, health, EVERYTHING except a belief in God and even He didn't seem to be around.  I discovered that it wasn't He that was unavailable, it was ME keeping Him at a distance.  He restored more than what I lost and I never forget to say thank you, every day, no matter what that day seemed like.

Edited February 22, 2020 by and then

[openozy]

4 hours ago, Sheltie said:

What makes you happy?

Practically everthing,if it doesn't I'll try to see the funny side.The thing that makes me the happiest is the reality I will die one day,living forever would be horrifying.

[simplybill]

Good topic, Sheltie. Very thought-provoking.

For most of my adult life I’ve been content with what I have and where I live, but I’m not sure that ‘contentment’ is a permanent part of my character. Being the recluse that I am, I worry that poor health might someday force me to move back to the city where I’d be surrounded by buildings and traffic and people. I suppose I’d eventually adjust to the new way of life, but would I still feel contented? Or just feel a sense of resignation?

Hmm... I think I need to adjust my attitude. 

 

[Crikey]

1 hour ago, and then said:

I woke up from an alcohol-induced meltdown and realized that I'd lost everything.  Job, family, health, EVERYTHING except a belief in God and even He didn't seem to be around.  I discovered that it wasn't He that was unavailable, it was ME keeping Him at a distance.  He restored more than what I lost and I never forget to say thank you, every day, no matter what that day seemed like.

Yeah I can relate to that..

 In 2002 I was just out of jail (3 month vigilante rap), jobless, girlfriendless, near-penniless, homeless and living rough in a wood near Cheltenham, but didn't blame God or anybody else because I was too busy laughing at myself- "Oh great" I thought "I've ended up as Bigfoot".

But as a Christian I soon got out and up, it's a POWER download thing..-

"Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power.." (1 Thess 1:5)

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of selfdiscipline" (2 Tim 1:7)

I'd also add to that by saying that if people have got a sense of humour like me, it's all plain sailing, but if they haven't they're like wagons without springs, jolted by every pebble on life's road. 

Example- yesterday I dropped a meat pie while getting it out of the oven and it splattered on the floor near a mousehole..."No problem" I thought, "I'll leave it there so the mice can have a good nosh-up"..

Oh god thank you for making me funny!-

 

[Crikey]

1 hour ago, openozy said:

Practically everthing,if it doesn't I'll try to see the funny side.The thing that makes me the happiest is the reality I will die one day,living forever would be horrifying.

Certainly, living forever on this yukky planet would be a bit boring, but I hear that when the body dies, the soul flies to a better place, sounds good to me..

Regard it as the final stage in human evolution when we transcend from our squishy bodies into purely spiritual life-forms; it's a theme picked up on in many sci-fi films and shows like this ST 'Transfigurations' episode..

[openozy]

2 minutes ago, Crikey said:

Certainly, living forever on this yukky planet would be a bit boring, but I hear that when the body dies, the soul flies to a better place, sounds good to me.

I can't wait Crikey,my old granny was 95 sharp as a tack and made jokes until her last breath.I enjoyed having her around until I was 54.I try to be like her but she was harder,tougher and funnier than I'll ever be.Can't wait to catch up again,be my best day ever.

[Crikey]

10 minutes ago, openozy said:

I can't wait Crikey,my old granny was 95 sharp as a tack and made jokes until her last breath.I enjoyed having her around until I was 54.I try to be like her but she was harder,tougher and funnier than I'll ever be.Can't wait to catch up again,be my best day ever.

Yes, my grandparents are dead, and my parents, aunts and uncles, a nephew, a few pals and a bunch of pets, and like you I hope to one day meet them again at that great supper table in the sky (sniffle)

https://youtu.be/PsM7TiDcnko

[drakonwick]

This is a good topic! I grew up in a mentally and physically abusive environment! It did not stop me though, as I have always wanted knowledge. I have been reading books most of my life! 

Learning new things, that's what makes me happy!

Edited February 22, 2020 by drakonwick

[Crikey]

5 minutes ago, drakonwick said:

This is a good topic! I grew up in a mentally and physically abusive environment! It did not stop me though, as I have always wanted knowledge. I have been reading books most of my life! ..Learning new things, that's what makes me happy!

Good for you..

 Just keep going and you'll be able to say-

 

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by Crikey

[Crazy Horse]

8 hours ago, XenoFish said:

Can't answer that. I think happiness is overrated. It's a drug that people pursue, looking for the next hit of happiness. I'd rather have contentment.

I feel that contentment is a prerequisite for a real, and long-lasting happiness.

And by the by, personally, I don't need to go looking for the next hit of happiness, I can quite naturally see, and experience the goodness and beauty in life.

[XenoFish]

11 hours ago, Sheltie said:

What makes you happy?

I'm going to take another stab at this. What makes me happy? Problem prevention. Due to my rather pessimistic nature I look for the worst case scenario. By doing this I seek to prevent those things from occurring. Problem solving and prevention, yes, I'd say that makes me feel good. I do not like that happy-go-lucky attitude that some people have, it grates my nerves. While they are thinking "Every thing will be fine." I building up a cash nest egg in order to prevent a problem. I'm stocking up on supplies for the worst of weather, keeping things maintained in order to prevent a problem. Funny how being a pessimist helps me to prevent a lot of potential problems. Maybe I'm just a realist.

[Crikey]

1 hour ago, XenoFish said:

..I do not like that happy-go-lucky attitude that some people have, it grates my nerves. While they are thinking "Every thing will be fine."

Right, I knew a "christian" street preacher who's attitude was "God will provide", and he never lifted a finger to help himself. As a result he's got two failed marriages behind him, he's been hauled before the courts several times for non-payment of his council tax, and at other times he's had his gas, electricity and phone cut off for not paying his bills, and he pedals around on his bike after dark thinking "If I get killed by a car it'll be god's will".

I reminded him of this verse but he's as still mushbrained as ever, and now I cross the street to avoid him-

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim 1:7)