Are people in general happy or unhappy?

Discussion in 'Free Thoughts' started by Bowser, Dec 1, 2017.

  1. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    My dad was living in my home at the time. He was a fixture in the family. His sudden absence was felt deeply.
     
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  3. cluelusshusbund + Public Dilemma + Valued Senior Member

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    Well not everthang revolved around my dad... an he was very ill for the last couple of weeks of his reasonably long life an nobody thout he woud want his unconscious body to live on so it was oK that he died... an luckly we was left wit lots of good memories.!!!
     
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  5. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    We know. And I sometimes worry about you.
     
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  7. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    Yes a mixed bag. That is the human condition. Apart from one's own perceptions and what the people one knows may say, neither of which may be reliable, for various reasons, this double-edged nature of existence can be seen clearly in literature.
     
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  8. river

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    Unhappy .

    We have lost the spirit of being , joyful .

    How many adults think that christmas is for kids ?

    There is to much emotion , everything in balance , and this emotion is based on FEAR . Be afraid ....

    This society is mean , unfriendly .
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2017
  9. Beer w/Straw Transcendental Ignorance! Valued Senior Member

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    How exactly does that fit in with the other statements?
     
  10. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    I think that is spot-on. Fulfilment has to be the goal and happiness is an occasional resultant.
     
  11. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    Well I think it means that if you a sample a population you will find some who are in a happy phase at any given point in time and some that are not, but you are unlikely to come across many people who are permanently happy or permanently unhappy. Though there are some outliers of course, who spend most of their in one of these states.

    Being English, I am not a believer in cultivating a fake, permanently happy persona for the sake of external appearances. But I know a lot of people do that - I can't help feeling it must make them unhappy in the end. Better to be like Shakespeare and recognise and accept the range of mental states a human being can go through.
     
  12. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    Also, why isn't every day Christmas?
     
  13. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Are people in general happy or unhappy?
    Yes.
     
  14. Seattle Valued Senior Member

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    As an aside, I saw a documentary once regarding happiness. The conclusion was that happiness isn't related to how much money you have, whether you have kids, whether you are married, how big your house it, what job you have.

    Those are some things that many people think that if they only had them they would be happy.

    Some of those things are fulfilling but that's not what causes "happiness". You can have kids, love them, be fulfilled but be stressed out all the time because of it. It's the same with most of things mentioned above.

    Happiness was found to be a result largely of your social network, people, what kind of relationships you have in your life, friends in other words. We are social creatures and we need that interaction with others.
     
  15. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Not everyone is a social creature. Interaction with others makes me unhappy.
     
  16. Seattle Valued Senior Member

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    I somehow doubt that.

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    I'm not a party animal. I'm not an extrovert so I enjoy being with one or two people at a time that I know well. The people can be your family, kids, close friends.

    Are you really happier spending a month without hanging out with another sole or having some alone time when you need it and hanging out with who ever is closest to you and having some interaction there as needed?

    The "happiness" that was spoken of had to do with the mental well-being that comes from caring for someone else and from being the recipient of that kind of attention from someone else as well.
     
  17. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Yes, I do it every 5 years on my sabbatical.
     
  18. cluelusshusbund + Public Dilemma + Valued Senior Member

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    I grew up in a little 2 bedroom house an me an 2 sisters shared a bed until i was 8 an then a sister got married off.!!!
    It seemed fine at the time but lookin back on it we lived on the poor side of town wit no car an a mile from the city dump... but we had good food decent clothes an a family that always ate supper together thru the week an all meals on the weekend.!!!

    I thank the childhood you have largely determines whether you will tend to be a hapy person or not... that an the genes you inherit.!!!

    I still live a simple life... an now bein in retirement wit enuff money to cover our wants an needs its the best time of my life... an the social activity we choose to partake of is enjoyable but so is our time together at home alone.!!!

    I thank happyness happens to those who hapen to have a necessary combination of environment an genes.!!!
     
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  19. Xelasnave.1947 Valued Senior Member

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    I was an only child and learn early how to enjoy my own company.
    I am very lucky however that I am not shy and make friends with ease.
    I never feel lonely.
    I lived as a hermit for many years and was most happy focused on astronomy, observing and taking photos.
    I believe my contentment comes from being happy irrespective of the situation.
    At times when everything seemed against me I would think I was in a movies, the hero, and at that part which would shortly unfold to see me riding into the sunset with the lead lady.
    I have had stress, having a small payroll to meet with no funds in sight, and situations where I stood to lose everything were stressful...but still was happy...the movie approach always seemed to support my belief everything would work out.
    Friends family work mates really were usually the cause of stress and my worry usually was for them not me.
    I have observed there are folk who seem to enjoy being unhappy or to be able to lament to others how something has gone wrong ... But I see their response often as an attention getting machinery.

    Looking at the cruelty, inequity and suffering in the world used to make me feel sad but I realise there is nothing I can do to change humans.

    I try not to judge others and see them through their own world and take into account their experience may cause them to be less than nice.

    I have had experience with many folk and both areas of my work one got to interact with folk at stressful times in their life.. Law and Real Estate can see folk very stressed so I learnt that if someone is having a go and verbally abusing me they are reacting to stress not me...I would rather folk lash out at me than go home and take it out on their family or pets.
    And posting here makes me happy.
    Alex
     
  20. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    Are you suggesting that fish provide good company?

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  21. Seattle Valued Senior Member

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    Yes, I'm a fish (sole) and I'm happiest when I'm among other soles.

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    (This is where the indefinite edit button would be nice).
     
  22. exchemist Valued Senior Member

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    You mean kindred soles.
     
  23. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    I tend to favor the company of family, but have met people at work with whom I enjoyed spending time. Listening to stories about their ambitions, hopes and lives is somehow interesting.
     

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