Happiness and Culture
Modern culture often encourages unhappiness. Negative feelings provide the dynamic energy that makes most cultural institutions function. Cultural institutions foster unhappiness by getting you to buy into the idea that your current situation is not quite perfect. In this imperfect state you are forbidden to feel happy. The institution then prescribes the necessary action you must take in order to make your situation perfect. It is only after you have taken the necessary action and have obtained perfection that you are given permission to feel happiness. A few examples follow:
- Christianity
- Imperfect State: sinner
- Action: proselytizing, church, prayer
- Perfect State: righteousness, heaven
- Consumerism
- Imperfect State: poor
- Action: challenging job, shopping
- Perfect State: riches, cutting edge technology, stunning beauty
- Politics
- Imperfect State: inequity
- Action: voting, arguing, protesting, war, donations
- Perfect State: democracy, world peace
- Education
- Imperfect State: ignorance
- Action: school, college, degrees, debt
- Perfect State: genius
There is a catch however, notice how the perfect states are unattainable. World peace may be a hopeless ideal. Heaven can only be achieved after you are dead. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The end result is that under the guidance of these institutions many people physically struggle and endure unhappiness forever.
So what is the answer? What is the way out? The answer is loving yourself and your external situation in the present, and enjoying the fruits of happiness right now. Cultural institutions cannot make you happy, only you can make yourself happy. The time to be happy is now. Recognize how the following statements are true for you:
- What is happening right now is exactly what you want and need.
- Your career is exactly where it needs to be right now.
- You are a good person.
- You are fulfilling your life’s purpose every second of your life.
- You have precisely the amount of money you should have right now.
- You are smart.
- Your health is exactly what you need for continued personal growth.
- You are in relationship with the person that can give you the most insight into yourself right now.
- Everything in the world is happening in its own time, and that timing is perfect.
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Happiness and Culture…
I agreed that modem culture such as consumerism sell the idea that I can only be happy if I own certain luxury items. I may be able to gain a short term happiness. But in the long terms, I may end up in financial trouble because I have overstretched my…
December 27th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Hi there…Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts comin..holy Wednesday