by Gaia | Apr 11, 2021 | To what extent is happiness accessible to everyone?
“Given the deeply subjective nature of ‘happiness’, it should technically be independent of conditions and other factors. According to the Buddha’s teachings, our ‘happiness’ is a result of clear understanding – of experiencing reality as it actually is. That includes recognizing impermanence as well as the non-existence of an independent ‘self’. These recognizitions lead to non-grasping and fulfillment. Those who have realized these truths are happy, whether they are financially wealthy or not.”
by Beti S | Apr 11, 2021 | To what extent is happiness accessible to everyone?
“At least once in their lives, everyone has probably heard a version of the saying, “money can’t buy happiness.” Some even justify this by referencing the two billion people around the world who live in extreme poverty but still experience joy. When westerners visit impoverished communities, it is common to hear descriptions like “despite having so little, they were so happy.” Even some research supports the idea that a lower GDP can lead to a more fulfilled life. However, it isn’t a straightforward relationship. When addressing global poverty, the simplification that poor people are happier can be dangerous and undermine the harsh realities of the world’s poor. Although wealth isn’t correlated with happiness, neither is poverty.
Wealth and Happiness
On several occasions, research has shown that people living in poverty report lower life satisfaction, lower subjective well-being and lower levels of positive emotion. Even the World Happiness Index ranks the high-income countries as the happiest. Africa is home to the majority of the world’s poor and has the least happy countries. This contradicts the notion that poor people are happier.
The research found happiness related to wealth when comparing people with higher incomes with those of lower incomes. However, it also compared people living in high-income countries with those living in low-income countries. In a study involving 132 countries, researchers found that in order to have an average life satisfaction rating of five out of 10, people needed to make an average of $3,000 per year.
Wealth and Fulfillment
The same study also evaluated the levels of fulfillment that people with various income levels reported. It found that poorer people reported higher levels of meaning in their lives. While only 66% of people in wealthier nations reported having meaningful lives, this number rose to above 95% in impoverished countries. Although it may appear that this is to do with the money these people had, it may actually have more to do with religious faith. Only 25% of Europeans identify as highly religious compared with 90% of Africans. Additionally, even high-income African’s reported higher happiness levels than similar income Europeans.
Another study has shown that happiness and fulfillment are separate topics. While fulfilling immediate needs increases happiness, it doesn’t necessarily impact fulfillment. There are many ways human beings find meaning. In wealthier nations, people that are more philanthropic repeatedly report leading more meaningful lives. As it happens, solving global poverty benefits the life satisfaction of poor people as well as those who help them.
Addressing Global Poverty
Although money doesn’t buy happiness, it does buy basic necessities like food, safe water and shelter. Around 43% of the world can’t afford a healthy diet, two billion people lack access to safe water and more than 1.5 billion are homeless. Without these basic needs, it is unrealistic to suggest that poor people are happier.
The notion that poor people are happier is outdated and not supported by research. Although various cultures have various ways of measuring happiness, research shows that certain things are universally essential. Addressing global poverty requires that people consider basic necessities as human rights and not privileges. By respecting more human rights and providing solutions to global poverty, the world is essentially happier.”
by Katie G | Apr 11, 2021 | To what extent is happiness accessible to everyone?, Uncategorized
“1. Happiness is not objective.
2. If nothing but happiness existed, we wouldn’t have the ability to notice our own happiness.
3. Being happy isn’t the only beautiful experience in life.
—
I’m Taoist. One of my favorite lines of the Tao Te Ching is from Poem Two. The translation I love most (Ursula K. Le Guin) goes like this:
“Everybody on earth, knowing that beauty is beautiful, makes ugliness. Everybody knowing that goodness is good, makes wickedness.”
These are human distinctions and human inventions and human definitions.
To make happiness, we make sadness.
Not only do we create these definitions ourselves, we then all go around disagreeing with each other about them!
Happiness is not objective.
—
More Tao Te Ching, Poem Two from Ursula K. Le Guin:
“For being and non-being arise together.”
And from the Feng, English, and Lippe translation:
“Therefore having and not having arise together.”
We can’t be happy or have happiness without also being able not to be happy or not to have happiness.
Ask a totally red-green colorblind person to tell you what red and green mean to them, without thinking of what anyone else has ever told them. Tell them to use only their personal experience. They’re going to tell you about grey.
It is contrast that makes things visible or noticeable.
How weird would you feel if you didn’t know what sadness or anger or fear were? What if none of us did?
If we were all happy, we would just call it “emotion” or “normal.”
If nothing but happiness existed, we wouldn’t have the ability to notice our own happiness.
—
But we can absolutely all have happy times in our lives – and more importantly, we can recognize more qualities of a moment, a person, or a life than just “happy.”
The idea of even one person* never experiencing happiness could probably power the Infinite Improbability Drive through a significant hyperspatial leap. Theoretically it’s possible, and I’m sure we could imagine scenarios, but I’ll just make my next point instead.
Think of the music you like. Is it always happy music that you like the most? No, lots of us get sick of Christmas carols or sappy, overplayed pop love songs.
Well, in order to write sad songs, angry songs – to create anything unhappy in any artistic medium that anyone else is gonna deeply relate to, you have to know unhappiness personally or through someone very close to your heart.
Do you like Linkin Park? Three Day’s Grace? Nirvana?
You know that beautiful music did not come out of happy people.
I mean, seriously, have you listened to anything by Kesha or Lorde or Lady Gaga recently?
Yet we also know those artists had happy times in their lives.
Do you like *any* music based in rock? R&B? Hip-hop? Jazz? Ragtime?
These are genres – vast, international genres – rooted in music that is literally. called. the.
BLUES.
Where would music be without the horrific, bloody, painful past of the slave trade?
NO-FUCKING-WHERE.
And yet, BEAUTIFUL, even HAPPY music evolved from bloody roots.
Swing dancing and club dancing are some of the most blissful, fun experiences I’ve ever had in my life. I know where those roots go, though. It wasn’t happiness that gave me my happy music to dance to.
Strange Fruit is one of the most deeply moving, bone-chiling, gut-wrenching, breathtaking songs I’ve ever heard. That song is so beautiful and meaningful and powerful that I usually have to stop whatever I’m doing, no matter who’s singing it, so I can shut my eyes, listen close, sing along, and play it twice. Happy?? Of-fucking-course not. And yet it’s probably one of my top ten favorite songs – even as much as I hate picking favorites.
I think a bluesy ruby is more beautiful than a sparkly pop diamond any day.
Being happy isn’t the only beautiful experience in life.
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