Interestingly I had just written a reflection on FB about the same thing. This article reviews research and reflects something that I figured out during my time at the monastery, that:
"The desire to be happy, causes suffering"
On the one hand happy people perform better in all aspects of life but on the other hand, to desire happiness is to go in the opposite direction. As Victor Frankl, the famous author of "Man's Search for Meaning" points out - "it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy.' But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to 'be happy.'"
So the focus must be on understanding the causes of happiness, and then living in accordance with that - performing the reasons. A person who discovers the causes of happiness, discovers a purpose for living, and only then one can feel that he/she is living a meaning life and derive joy from that.
and this article based on the story of Victor Frankl discusses the difference between living a happy life and a meaningful life. The former is characterized by "taking" while the latter is characterized by "giving".
On Dec 29, 2015 nkrivosh wrote:
Interestingly I had just written a reflection on FB about the same thing. This article reviews research and reflects something that I figured out during my time at the monastery, that:
"The desire to be happy, causes suffering"
On the one hand happy people perform better in all aspects of life but on the other hand, to desire happiness is to go in the opposite direction. As Victor Frankl, the famous author of "Man's Search for Meaning" points out - "it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy.' But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to 'be happy.'"
So the focus must be on understanding the causes of happiness, and then living in accordance with that - performing the reasons. A person who discovers the causes of happiness, discovers a purpose for living, and only then one can feel that he/she is living a meaning life and derive joy from that.
http://www.huffingtonpost.c...,
and this article based on the story of Victor Frankl discusses the difference between living a happy life and a meaningful life. The former is characterized by "taking" while the latter is characterized by "giving".
http://www.theatlantic.com/...