hopelesshappiness.com

The playwright Aeschylus (525 BC to 456 BC) said,

"He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

WOW!  Talk about 'Night on Bald Mountain'.  Yet he agrees with me (or, more correctly, I agree with him) - Wisdom (which is what makes me Happy) has a synergistic relationship with pain and adversity (which leaves me unhappy).  Just because it is Hopeless though, does not mean you should give up. I feel somewhat liberated since my first post a week ago when I verbalized the hopeless nature of happiness; (what do they say about admitting you have a problem?). I feel an acceptance now, and a renewed sense of energy.  I am freed from the bonds of facade, by recognizing and accepting my hurt, which allows a glimpse of Truth (Wisdom), which in turn causes pain; which I accept and recognize  ...  Final Score: Happy 2 - Unhappy 2; most days (in my life) Unhappy outscores Happy by about 10 to 7. But that's okay.  I refuse to give up, because those days when Happy pulls off an upset - those are great days.

And because we have some great days, we naturally want them all to be great. After all, that's written somewhere in our Constitution - right?  Actually it's in the Declaration of Independence that our Founding Fathers said something about mankind being endowed with "certain unalienable Rights" including  "the pursuit of Happiness". I believe that too many of us have ignored 'pursuit' and believe we have the 'Right' - we are 'Entitled' - to Happiness. And when we are unhappy ('the absence of, or any state other than, Happiness) we are angry; because we think we should be happy; and too often we look for someone to blame. ACCEPT IT!  There is no one to blame; not even yourself. PURSUE Happiness by pursuing Wisdom and Truth! APPRECIATE when you grasp or even glimpse Happiness for a short period of time; and (as hard as it may be) appreciate the pain and adversity that precedes those moments.

Bottom Line - if you believe you are 'a happy person' you are fooling (tricking) yourself by using some of the aids (crutches) referred to in my previous Post - Hopeless Happiness. I am not saying there is anything wrong with this; I am saying that it cannot (by my definition) be a True Happiness.

'Hopeless Happiness' is a product of my attempt to reconcile Truth with Peace.  Serious reflection on the nature of Truth seems to disturb my peace by causing me to consider and acknowledge reality, while attempts to focus and center (seeking peace) seem to impede any progress towards wisdom.  If I found the ultimate Truth (Wisdom) (Purpose) I am certain it would come prepackaged with Happiness. Therein lies the 'Hopeless'.  I will never, in this lifetime,  find the ultimate Truth so I will never be 'truly' Happy. Yet still I can at times trick myself. Like right now, when I  feel? ... think? that I am making progress. Or often it is simply when I am active and in good health. Or when I 'count my blessings'. Or when I am stimulated socially. Or when I am kind, empathetic, respectful, compassionate, helpful. Or when I am constructive, trusting, optimistic, productive. Or even when I feel like I know something or am part of something that everyone else should accept without question.

So is 'Hopeless' in this context  a negative? (I don't think so.)

Is 'Reality' a downer? (Yes.)

Should we ignore 'Reality'? (No.)

Is ignorance - or being oblivious - truly bliss?  (Yes, but that's no excuse; though it is nice every now and then.)

And what about all those crutches listed above?  Why are they tricks?  (They are only tricks if we don't dilute them with Humility and Reality.  Proper perspective will allow a burgeoning Happiness to find the sunshine at least occasionally.)

I have begun this discussion because I am not at all certain of my answers above; (although I was confident when I wrote them). There are times I wish I could be certain; or oblivious; or more grateful; or even more spiritually faithful.  Though many of us put on a brave front I believe this doubt to be universal. Perhaps not?  Tell me.  I am looking for lively, balanced, respectful conversation that will argue for and against hope and happiness. Balance is a key. I will do my best to not let this become only 'Zip-a-dee-doo-dah-Camptown-Races', or exclusively 'Night on Bald Mountain'.  I want to learn from a proper mix of dark and light; so please tell me what you think.

I look forward to your responses. I will end this first post with a description of how I encourage myself to keep searching for 'bits' of Wisdom that will in turn reward me with intermittent Hope and Happiness:

Never-ending Foolishness, led by an Imagination that is constantly Learning from the cycles of Separation and Structure, while cultivating the Ability to gain Insight (driven by Passion and Integrity, and tempered with Humor and Compassion) into the Depth of my Body, my Heart, my Mind, and my Spirit.