Read Here: Three Pillars of Permanent Happiness
First, you need to take anything concerning happiness with a grain of salt. Due to my high levels of apathy lately I took this article with a pound of salt. So, before you read my take of this article please know that I'm a salty individual right now, and that happiness is something I look at and roll my eyes.
First pillar of happiness was being autonomous. Being financially set does in fact contribute to your happiness. Rich folks will tell you that money can't buy happiness, but according to life here on Earth and according to science money does in fact contribute a great deal. Not having to worry about whether you'll have enough for groceries, or if you can pay the rent/mortgage this month, or if you'll have enough to pay your phone bill, or your medical bill, or any other one of the bills that you have to have in order to survive in this capitalistic world, causes stress levels to drop which causes the door for happiness to be propped open with money. Does money buy happiness? No. Does money contribute to your happiness levels? Hell yes. It contributes on multiple levels. The article states...
"The scientists found that millionaires were more likely to spend time on work activities that offered more personal autonomy — that is, work they decided to do themselves instead of following the guidance of others. This was shown to relate to higher life satisfaction."
So basically the working class person is doing a job that doesn't offer personal satisfaction. The working class are doing jobs in order to pay the bills, not to enjoy life. When you have the money to do any job you want you're more likely to be a happy worker - to be more happy period. I am considered a part of the "working class". I do enjoy my job, but I get paid working poor wages. The working poor wages cause me stress, and the stress depletes my happiness minute by minute. I know this to be true of the majority of humans I know. We're all the working poor, and we all are stressed about money every single day.
The article also states... "Another interesting finding was that millionaires tended to spend more time engaging in "active" leisure pursuits (for example, praying, socializing, exercising, and volunteering) while non-millionaires engaged in more passive leisure activities (watching TV, napping and resting, and doing nothing)." In essence, the working class doesn't have the energy or time to participate in active leisure pursuits, and this too contributes to our lack of happiness due to money constraints. Therefore, if you're stuck in this system like I am, the first pillar of happiness they're talking about is a joke. It ain't gonna happen in this lifetime in this fucked up capitalistic system we exist in. Thanks science for letting me know that happiness is far from reach if you're the working poor. So, fuck pillar number one.
The second pillar is a bit more complicated. For me anyway. I know it has to be the same for others out there in the same boat as I. It's just not as cut and dry as money does contribute to happiness. The second pillar is meaning - the article states "Meaning provides us with the sense that our lives matter, that they make sense, and that they are more than the sum of our seconds, days, and years." Essentially, you need to know your life matters, that your life makes sense, and that there's more to life than just the day by day hum of existing. I struggle greatly with this. I don't know why. Maybe I think too much? Maybe I'm too empirical? Whatever the reason I fight to give my existence reason. I fight to make myself matter to myself. I fight to give myself meaning past the hum of waking, working, eating, and sleeping. Inside my brain I just don't matter in the big scheme of things. Inside my brain I'm just 7 octillion atoms that could exist or not and it wouldn't matter. I suppose early in my life religion gave me meaning. Right now at this time I do believe we're all connected biologically, and connected to the Earth chemically, and connected to the Universe atomically, but still this doesn't give me meaning for some reason. I feel that the meaning to life is just to live life, and I feel that should be enough, but for me it's not. Maybe because I grew up in this world where there was this "grand scheme" that God was in charge of, and I was a part of it. Maybe the fact that I no longer believe in this "grand scheme" or God discourages me into apathy? I don't know (I've been saying this a lot lately). According to science the fact that I can't find meaning makes me less likely to find happiness. If you struggle as well with finding that you matter, or finding meaning in life, then the second pillar to permanent happiness is a slap in the face. You can't force yourself to believe something. I've tried. So, fuck pillar number two too.
The last pillar is related to age. Chiefly, the older you are the more likely you are to experience happiness due to you being more optimistic. The article states... "Consistent with prior work, they found optimism to be lowest in people’s 20s, then rise steadily into people’s 30s and 40s, peaking in people’s 50s, and gradually declining after that." When it comes to my existence I find this to be true. The older I've gotten the more towards happy I've become. I recall my 20s being the darkest days of my existence. Now I'm 36. I'm definitely happier than I was in my 20s. Is this due to me being more optimistic? This I am not sure. I'm not sure I am more optimistic? Honestly? I find that my apathy which has grown over the years contributes to my happiness. How? I care less about what other's think. In caring less about what other's think I have a more carefree attitude which bestows me happiness. This pillar to permanent happiness is one that a human has no control over really. Time does its thing, and you just hold on. Hopefully age brings with it the happiness to you that it brings to most folks.
Happiness is a scary word to me. It's sand bag heavy. It's third eye abstract. It's desperately circumstantial. But even though it's all those things it's what we're all striving for - to be happy and at peace. It seems this world, especially capitalist societies, is one where happiness is difficult to come by. We can't get ahead, because this world is made for the 1% and keeping the working human down. Due to us not being able to get ahead it festers the blisters in our happiness. Our jobs are here for us to pay the bills. They don't give us meaning. We then go looking for meaning else where. For me, none can be found right now. I imagine I'm not alone in this. This lack of meaning and mattering crumble the second pillar to the ground. I guess we all have pillar number three in our favor, because we're all doing nothing but getting older. I realize happiness is where we're all trying to get, but in this world it's behind a lot of closed locked doors for the majority of humans.
Don't worry. Be happy. Right?
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For real tho
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