“I just wanted to be happy”

[PantyFanatic]

What the hell are we after? :confused:

Just what IS happiness? Most all of us "just want to be happy". What is it we expect to get in life? Is happiness an inner feeling that is made up primarily of a mental and emotional status that we only do not find threatening and uncertain? Does our personal happiness include other people’s happiness? If we are looking for happiness beyond our self, how far should that circle be? Is it just for one other person or does it include every member of our family? Is the target an isolated existence or does it reach out our front door, down the street and around the world? What are realistic expectations for you and how much of YOUR happiness involves the happiness of somebody else? Can our personal happiness be much different than the happiness of someone we want to share our life with?

We’ve all had moments of ecstatic pleasure, but few of us think this will be a permanent state of being. Unfortunately we’ve all had experience with times of crushing sadness and paralyzing inner pain that we can not imagine ever passing, but it does. Is the state (hopefully closer to ecstatic pleasure) in-between what most of us refer to as happiness?

Is happiness something that we hope becomes a constant state covering every minute of our consciousness? I don’t think we expect that. Then this means we know happiness will have some moments that are closer to the pleasant feelings we strive for, than others. Therefore there will be expected times of disappointment and sadness we accept as part of happiness. Does this make happiness something with a width band with top and bottom limits? If so, is the width of that band the key to what we strive for? Or is the centerline of that band the important issue? Is the goal to narrow that band and keep trying to push the center, higher and higher?

Just what constitutes “happiness” for you and how has it changed and how do you expect it to change?



(That should make for some interesting posts :rolleyes: ) lmao

[osuche]

/me slinks away while resisting the urge to quote Hobbes....who defined happiness as resisting the tendencies of Natural Man.

'No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' But then again...we HAVE a social contract, right? LMAO. With GWB as our fearless leader.

Of course, one could define Happiness via Maslow... and his hierarchy of needs. But so few people reach self actualization!!

For me....Happiness is intellectual and personal freedom. No artificial constraints impeding my ability to give this life all I've got. I *like* challenge, and I really don't want safety -- other than basic physical safety which will allow me to pursue my goals.

I do wish happiness for my friends and family, also...and I will help them when needed. But mostly I wish them the strength to conquer their own problems.

Sounds kind of Ayn Rand-ian, huh?

[WildIrish]

What is this "happy" word that you speak of? :confused:

Actually, I'm a happy guy. I find joy in the little things and I don't sweat things that are out of my control. (Prime example: I'm refinancing my house and we still don't have a closing date. Mrs. WI is ready to kill someone and I'm all "it'll happen when they're ready".) This is often misinterpreted as not caring, but is really a highly developed "let it roll" technique I've perfected over the years.

I'm happy when I've prepared a good meal that everyone eats, even though a burp or fart at the table precipitates 15 minutes of mouth generated replications, giggles and raucus behaviour.

I'm happy when I'm driving somewhere on a sunny day. I'm happy when I get to work safely in a snow storm. And I'm happy when I arrive home at night.

I love my family, and though they make me insane all day every day...I'm happy when I'm with them. I plan on naming my first stroke after my wife, but I'm still happy when we spend time alone together.

Talking to Lilith makes me happy. She's a great person and my voice smiles when we speak to each other.

Doing my job well makes me happy. Going to build with Habitat makes me happy. Cooking makes me happy. Knowing my house is reasonably clean makes me happy. I don't look for the silver cloud in ever situation so much as I simply don't focus on the bad aspect of something. I don't think I'm that much different than most other people. Maybe I am.

I do get a feeling of comfort when I know I've made someone else happy. I never enjoy someone's pain, even when that someone may not share the same sentiment. I don't start out the day saying to myself "I'm gonna make other people happy today" but by being who I am, and taking the actions I do...well, it happens. Perhaps that helps. It's not a checkbox on my list of things to do as much as it is a lifestyle choice.

Tough topic to tackle! I look forward to peeking into everyone's minds for this one.

[gekkogecko]

What the hell are we after?


In your case, PF, women's underwear.

[gekkogecko]

Oh, and while I'm in this thread, I may as well pass WI a sheep. ;)

[WildIrish]

:p

[PantyFanatic]

In your case, PF, women's underwear.
... with a happy lady in them is a good start. ;)

[fzzy]

My personal philosophy is that happiness is mainly about choice ... I choose to be happy and so I'm happy. But I think it ties in strongly for most people with another positive emotion .... gratitude. I choose to look for good and positive aspects in people and in situations, and in the process I express appreciation often to others and to my "higher power". Because of that, even though there have been times of grieving in my life or turmoil and such, at least most of my adult life I've also had an underlying sense of happiness in even the worst moments. I adopted a personal motto several years ago ... "Life's an adventure!" So, when I look at my difficult moments, I just remind myself that this is an adventure, and there will be things to be enjoyed and learned if I follow the path with the right attitude. It's taken years to get this so it is an almost involuntary response, but it is well worth it to me!! ... I guess I could have also said ... "What WI said!" :)

And yes, the happiness of people I care about matters a great deal to me and I will do what I can to help them find that for themselves - and/or give something/time, etc. to aid them in the process they need to go through to get there.

[Steph]

Geez, where did the idea from this thread come from? :)

I think we've all read the love poetry & the quotes about happiness being with someone you love . . . when that falls apart, you have to use another cliche & wait for happiness again, I guess.

True happiness is probably found in being equally happy by yourself as you are when you're in love with another.

[PantyFanatic]

Geez, where did the idea from this thread come from? ...
I wanted to be happy and prayed to god for an angle, :) but the devil sent me you, :eek: so I thought I'd see how others do it? :D

[rabbit]

For me, Happiness Is:

1) Being able to provide a good life for those I love.

2) Being loved in return.

3) Helping those who are less fortunate than I.

4) Doing the right thing.

5) Not allowing the negativity of others pollute who I am and my optimistic self.

6) Kicking the shit out of a golf course.

7) My favorite sports teams winning championships.

8) A sunny day.

9) Knowing that Jesus loves me.

10) A cold beer after a job well done.

11) Being with and loving a friend.

12) A freshly manicured yard.

13) An awesome meal followed by a damn good cigar.

14) Crocuses.

15) Blue Raspberry Mister Mistys

16) Getting dressed up and looking studly.

17) Getting lucky!

18) Taking a dream vacation.

19) Enjoying a good movie.

20) Pixies Place!

:D

[sodaklostsoul]

Happy Happy Joy Joy........... it's over rated!!

[Lilith]

I think people expect to be happy, like they are entitled to it and that is not necessarily how it works. To me happiness comes from making good choices including choosing to be happy.

My list

1. Loving people and them loving me back
2. Seeing that lightbulb turn on in someone's head
3. Joking around the table at dinner
4. African Violets
5. Coffee with deadly creamer
6. Knowing something I did helped keep a child safe
7. Praise
8. Making beautiful things like jewelry or a meal people enjoyed
9. Feeling proud of my kids and loving them even when I'm not so proud
10. Associating with good people who make me laugh, and fill my pitcher

[Lilith]

I forgot to add 2 things:

the sound of his voice when he cums

and that noise babies/little kids make that is like a deep exhalation/shiver when they stop crying after a hard cry

[WildIrish]

I forgot to add 2 things:

the sound of his voice when he cums

and that noise babies/little kids make that is like a deep exhalation/shiver when they stop crying after a hard cry



Both of which are usually followed by "can we get ice cream?" :D

[sodaklostsoul]

I'm happy....but if I won the lotto I would be REALLY happy!!!

[LixyChick]

Happiness is the flip side of death to me!

Even when I am sad, I am happy to be alive to experience the emotion! If I never experienced "sad"...how could I know "happy"?

Deep...huh? ^^^

[PantyFanatic]

VERY! :D

I’ve been waiting for your input to this thread and I wasn’t disappointed. :)





Now where are the words from OldFart? :rolleyes:

[sodaklostsoul]

VERY! :D

I’ve been waiting for your input to this thread and I wasn’t disappointed. :)





Now where are the words from OldFart? :rolleyes:
Still in his head!?

[BIBI]

I do the things that bring me happiness. I spend time with people who make me content. I surround myself with things that bring me comfort, and I try to create daily happiness for myself.

Being comfortable in one's own skin and content with life in general is what I think is needed to garner real happiness in one's life.

I have found that it takes far less to make my feel happy than in years gone by for I have of course realized many things that I had wanted that I thought would make me happy in life.

Some were the "icing on the cake" but what I have learned that whatever makes you the happiest can also bring to you the most pain in life. Without some painful experiences in life I don't believe anyone can truly appreciate their happy times to their fullest.

When young material items bring forth happiness but as I have aged of course my views have changed too. These days it brings great happiness to awaken to a new day to share with my family and friends.....to love and be loved, appreciated and respected and accepted for who I am.

I am content and therefore I am able to accept whatever happiness comes in to my life with much gratitude to the one responsible for this, even if it is only myself at times.

I didn't want to list what makes me happy for this changes day to day. I hope this answers your questions PF. If not....too bad :D

[wyndhy]

this convo is wayyy too existential for this cat.
happy is as happy does

[scotzoidman]

PF gives me a lot of ??? with no easy answers, but here goes nothin'...

I suppose at this point in my existence, I've had enough of the life events that have made me not happy that I can now derive a little happiness from the little things that I used to miss altogether...e.g., the other day on the new gig as a courier, I had made a pickup on the west side to go back to the warehouse on the southside, not a real profitable run by itself...I ask dispatch if I can hang out there for a while & wait for another p/u going the same way, he says np...I grab a burger, enjoy a leisurelyu lunch in Centennial Park in the shadow of the Parthenon replica, eventually I get a run that takes me back & I get paid for 2 runs while making essentially one, & i thought later, "lunch in the park on a nice winter day was not a waste of time," & I could say that for an hour I was reasonably happy...

[Oldfart]

Happy is not a word I often use any longer, as it means too many things to too many people.

I am generally content in my life, and if nothing's hurting me, then to some I'm happy.

I take joy from good company and friends, in the RW and here, and to some I'm happy.

I see my immortality in my children, and seeing them not hurting, then to some I'm happy.

I'll settle for content, with the prospect of occasional peaks of joy.