When I was a college boy, I spent a considerable amount of
time and energy reading philosophy, religion, history, mythology, anthropology
.... well, I am sure you get my drift. Among those I thought the wisest and sort
of idolized was John Stuart Mill, a British philosopher and political economist
who was active in the mid-Nineteenth Century.
Mill advocated utilitarianism, a version of consequentialism, which states that the consequences of any action are the only
standard of right and wrong. He wrote a number of books, including one
entitled, "Utilitarianism." It was published in 1863. In that book are the
following sentences:
"And this leads to the true estimation of what is said by
the objectors concerning the possibility, and the obligation, of learning to do
without happiness. Unquestionably it is possible to do without happiness; it is
done involuntarily by nineteen-twentieths of mankind, even in those parts of
our present world which are least deep in barbarism ...."
By the way, Mill also favored women's suffrage and the
abolition of slavery .... as a member of Parliament, he argued that the
oppression of women was one of the few remaining relics from ancient times, a
set of prejudices that severely impeded the progress of humanity.
Hmmmm .... enough wandering and moving along back to the topic of happiness .... what it is, where it is, how
to find it and how to keep it.
It would seem most people believe happiness is found within
one's self, rather than without. If that is so, and I am beginning to think
that it is, that would mean I have been looking in the wrong places and engaged
in an exercise of futility.
I had thought this "part two of the happiest people" would
be a rather long, drawn-out attempt to explain in more detail my concept of happiness,
but then I decided -- rather abruptly -- by doing that I would only be repeating things I have
thought/said/written countless times before.
Happiness, for me, is momentary -- has been, in the past,
anyway. As for the future, that is yet to be, so, we shall see ....
Hearing the song, "Ever Dream," by Nightwish and Tarja
Turunen provides me with a few moments of absolute happiness .... so, once again,
here it is for me to listen to and drift away with so I might brush up against
serenity while I sift through my inner being for a means to give happiness
permanency ....
Also present is the song, "Rainbow Eyes," performed by the
band, Rainbow. Ronnie James Dio is the vocalist and the magician with a guitar
is Ritchie Blackmore. I love the song. The young lady is very attractive, but,
actually, it is the scenery which is the center of my focus and which captures
my imagination.
4 comments:
It does not look at all like you are having spring, Fram.
The mischievous Aphrodite definitely has her own plans.
About happiness. I believe in choices.
You choose your attitude. You choose to be optimist or pessimist. You choose to be happy or not.
I know sometimes life is hard and not fair. You can't change this, the only thing you can do is play on the one string you have, and that is your attitude. For me personally being in charge with my attitude helps me to stay happy and not stressed out about my failures, mistakes and difficult days.
And the songs you chose today, Fram are beautiful!!!
Beautiful winter is there. Surprisingly a lot of snow.
The snowfall was about 20 cm early this week, really winter came back.
The weather warmed yesterday and today, snow has almost completely melted away.
Today starts rainfall that melts the snow.
Snow did not bring any stress.
It is a personal choice what to do or not to do.
Sometimes action does not bring happiness.
There is no promise of eternal happiness, life has all the feelings.
Life is good with joy and sorrow.
Happiness is women's right to vote.
I looked at the computer's full screen Rainbow eyes.
The music shone beautifully with the scenery. I enjoy the video.
To have an April such as this in Minnesota is not unusual. I would speculate that more of these months are cool to cold and damp to wet than are not. And, I can blame this extension of winter on Aphrodite, which is some consolation.
By the way, Kaya, it is sleeting out at the moment, and the ducks seem to approve of this weather. A pair of mallards just landed on the roof of the house across the street. It is a common event around here. There are times when I will see one or two ducks on my picnic table in the back yard eating food I put out for birds and the neighborhood "critters."
I believe you are correct about happiness. So much of it revolves around attitude .... but, my nature revolves around melancholy, which, I assume, is why happiness is so distant and remote to me. I cannot always fight my way through the fog of melancholy.
In reality, my name is Fram Actual the Fortunate, and I truly believe I am fortunate in just about every way imaginable. That is why my near-constant state of melancholy is such a mystery to me: There is absolutely no reason happiness should be elusive, and it defies logic that it is ....
Thank you, Kaya, for coming and for your words. You are a wise woman and an excellent photographer ....
The snow had just about disappeared around here before our most recent round of late winter. It seems there will be a battle between the seasons -- between winter and spring -- here in Minnesota for the next week or two or more .... it will be that way, at least, if the weather procrastinators are accurate with their predictions.
You are right, though, Liplatus. Winter is beautiful, the most beautiful of the seasons, I think .... even more beautiful than autumn with its wonderful colors.
I also agree with you that it often is a personal choice whether or not to be happy, but, as I wrote to Kaya, my up and down/back and forth relationship with a state of melancholy creates a pensive mood which causes me to see the world as a profoundly serious place in which to exist. It simply is the way I am, for better or for worse ....
"Happiness is women's right to vote." That sentence sort of shook me in a few ways. I suppose I never have thought of the right to vote in those terms, either for women or for men. Your words form such a simple statement of truth, but one with the complexity of uncountable years of social history. I need to think about it more ....
Thank you, Liplatus, for your presence and your words. Yes, the music of, "Rainbow Eyes," blends well with the scenery of the video, and I am happy that you enjoyed it. As the words on the sign at the end read: "Long live rock 'n' roll" ....
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