| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Kayne
Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 784
|
 Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 4:08 pm Post subject: Secret to Happiness? |
 |
|
| According to social scientists, 70% of our happiness comes from our relationships with friends, family coworkers and neighbors. How does money fit into our happiness? Money isolates us from other people. We move from a college dorm to an apartment, then house, then if wealthy, an estate. Are we really moving up or walling ourselves off? The happiest countries in the world: Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Denmark citizens have 6 weeks vacation per year, and believe in human rights, democracy and lazy afternoons in cafes. (The Geography of Bliss). |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
JaneO
Joined: 17 Feb 2008
Posts: 755
|
| Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 8:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well, I am perfectly willing to believe that personal relationships are more productive of happiness that material possessions, though a lack of the latter can be pretty productive of misery. I do find it hard to believe that a college dorm is particularly productive of joy and bliss. It is obviously going to depend on your definition of happiness.
Nor do I think of Switzerland as a particularly joyous, non-materialistic place.
I always remember the Orson Welles character's line from The Third Man:
“In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock.” |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dick
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 2255
|
| Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 9:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
@JaneO: That quote made me laugh so hard I had an asthma attack.
Don't have much to say about happiness, but I think it's great moments, not a state of being. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tee
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 4053
Location: Detroit Metro
|
| Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 7:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
| dick wrote: | | @JaneO: That quote made me laugh so hard I had an asthma attack. |
Me, too. I loved that quote. I think some strife brings on change and all sorts of warriors, resulting in progress. We need the peace, but we also need the positive stresses of life.
| Quote: | | Don't have much to say about happiness, but I think it's great moments, not a state of being. |
Another point of agreement here. Life is a series of memorable moments, both good and bad. When we look back on our lives, what pops to the top are moments, however fleeting they are. An event we feel will live forever in our minds doesn't necessarily do that. However, some of the times we thought we'd rather put behind us and remain forgettable are just the ones that helped shape our future choices and decisions. Life is one great learning curve, isn't it? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KarenS
Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 861
Location: Florida
|
| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 8:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
What is the secret to happiness? I suppose everyone has their own definition so you will probably get a wide spectrum of answers. But for me, my secret or definition of happiness would be in no particular order: love and respect of family and friends, having respect for myself and accepting myself warts and all, having good health(physical and mental), resilience, having a skill or talent that I'm good at and being optimistic.
Happiness is being able to pay bills with enough left over at the end of the month for savings so money does play a role. This epitomizes comfortable for me which is more important to me than being rich.
I want my kids to be happy, healthy and successful. If they are then I feel I will have fulfilled my role as their mother.
I have returned to work after a twenty year hiatus so I am enjoying what I'm doing. I only work 32 hours per week which suffices for me since I have a challenging volunteer position that consumes almost all of my free time. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tee
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 4053
Location: Detroit Metro
|
| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 8:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| KarenS wrote: | | I only work 32 hours per week which suffices for me since I have a challenging volunteer position that consumes almost all of my free time. |
Don't forget to leave some time to take care of the flowers that you show as your avatar. I think it was some years ago when I asked you about that, and you said your son took a picture of it growing in your garden. If you still have that bush, or whatever it is, nurture it well--it's beautiful. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KarenS
Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 861
Location: Florida
|
| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 8:48 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Tee wrote: | | KarenS wrote: | | I only work 32 hours per week which suffices for me since I have a challenging volunteer position that consumes almost all of my free time. |
Don't forget to leave some time to take care of the flowers that you show as your avatar. I think it was some years ago when I asked you about that, and you said your son took a picture of it growing in your garden. If you still have that bush, or whatever it is, nurture it well--it's beautiful. |
My bromeliads should hopefully be blooming in June as well as September. You have a great memory as I am proud of my son's photographic abilities.
For my Mother's Day and birthday gift, my son gave me a published book of his pictures he took while he was studying abroad in London. Apple Photobooks publishes your pictures. It turns your photos into a book with hard/soft cover, different sizes for a reasonable fee. It is high quality, coffee-style books. One of his elective courses he took while in London was a Photography class so he had lots of pictures. This is a great gift for any occasion. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tee
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 4053
Location: Detroit Metro
|
| Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 12:58 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| KarenS wrote: | | My bromeliads should hopefully be blooming in June as well as September. |
I think I also recall that he took that particular picture at night, which, with the background, makes it even more sharp. Your son apparently enjoys what he's doing and that's a sign of happiness in itself. If only all of us could be making a living by doing exactly what turns us on. Sometimes that works out great for people and sometimes the actual work doesn't quite meet our expectations. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kayne
Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 784
|
| Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 1:08 pm Post subject: cuckoo |
|
|
| JaneO wrote: | | “In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock.” |
I saw the cuckoo quote in yesterday’s New York Times article about Byron and Shelly’s visit to Lake Geneva in 1816. They sailed Geneva Lake, took horseback trips to tour nearby castles in the Alps, and wrote. Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein, Byron wrote poems, Shelly wrote the Hymns to Intellectual Beauty and John Polidori (Byron’s physician) wrote The Vampyre. They also experienced bad weather (incredible thunderstorms) from the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia the previous year.
Byron wrote in a letter to his sister that he lay down in the sun, enjoyed himself most entirely and dared to write down that he was happy. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Rylan
Joined: 12 Oct 2011
Posts: 3
|
| Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:13 am Post subject: |
|
|
Nice sharing.
Here i am going to show you some tips for happiness.
1. Avoid all kind of tensions.
2. Always clear your mind.
3. Keep your mind be fresh.
4. Take a long sleep.
5. Always be busy.
_________________
Rylan |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
