I got an interesting email from someone (a bloke) who read the post preceding this one titled: 'Happiness is a Curse'

In part he said (permission was given to quote):

"I find your posts self serving, furry minded and much too long for the little they have to say. For example, what are you saying in this post? That happiness is bad because it gets people excited so they do great things because of it? Then you go on and talk about yourself and how you let go of happiness. What a crock. The human race wouldn't have developed to such an incredible extent without the pursuit of happiness. Animals get happy. And I imagine it gives you happiness to write your posts. Without the possibility of happiness no-one would get out of bed in the morning ..."

And so it goes ...

New photos 16-10-08 037

I don't usually get emails about my posts ... but this one had some good points - particularly regarding length. I do try to write short posts, but they always get big ... which makes me long winded I suppose. Oh well ... we all have our cross to bear (or is that bare ... I'm never sure)...

But I think the writer missed my point a bit, which was that the pursuit of happiness has become a pre-eminent motive in our lives - and I think it is a sure way to anxiousness and disappointment.

I'm not saying happiness is bad. In my world nothing is bad, just as nothing is good. Things just are what they are.

And I agree, the pursuit of happiness gives us very intense motivation to invent and progress - all of it toward the mirage of perfect happiness. But running counter to this is that perfect happiness, like the Christian heaven, is a terrible myth which keeps us always striving for something other than what is here right now - for perfect partners, perfect children, perfect breasts, perfect noses, perfect societies, perfect people .. perfect, perfect, perfect.

With this kind of view we become like anorexic staring into mirrors, seeing a distortion of reality based on our misguided desires, but not on reality.

And my point about animals - I never said animals are not happy - I simply said that they don't pine for happiness. They live with what they are NOW.

And ditto for me.

But ... I do take his point that I have a tendency to use my own experience as example. I think this comes from my view that, in my life I am the only experiment. Though books inform me, I never believe anything until I've tried it out on myself. Hence the strange and unlikely life I've lead, I suppose.

Anyway, it's great that he took the time and energy to write, because it means he contemplated what I said ... and that's all I could ask from anyone.

CU
Mr Furry Mind