Sources of happiness -- part one...

Yes, it's been a while -- I never said this was a daily endeavor. Considering I'm doing this really for myself, not a huge panic -- having no publishing deadline is a wonderful thing!

So as I re-read my posts, what I'm trying to delve into are the larger questions; not so much in an esoteric fashion but in a pragmatic, what the hell are we doing here sense. So I'm an existentialist -- sue me.

At the base of it, I'm trying to figure out (a) what really separates us from our hairier cousins [primates, not your real cousins -- but if you have one, my apologies], (b) how we are truly distinct, and (c) how to better ourselves if that is the case. A meandering blog is the perfect opportunity for me -- I enjoy writing and talking [believe me, anyone who knows me will beg for me to shut up at a certain point!!] so this is a great outlet for me. For the most part, the majority of us have traded our liberties to sit in a cubicle or office chained in front of a computer doing relatively meaningless tasks for at least 50% of their waking lives -- I'm trying to figure out why, and what options exist to change that. May not mean much to you, but the seeds of a revolution are in here -- allow me to dig; who knows what may come up.

Back to the topic at hand -- happiness: real, soul-drenching happiness -- not the 'I just beat my high score on Galaga' happy [younger folk can search for that game - blast from the past]. All creatures seek those basics of survival -- food, shelter, protection from enemies / predators. Animals will join in packs and flocks in order to meet many of these needs -- as do humans. Regardless of the form of society, most begin with the basic necessity of meeting some or all of the basics from above. Although the shelter may be nicer than our animal brethren, we still have not moved a long distance from our primate cousins. But we are not bipedal, hairless apes you argue -- we have TiVo!! Yeah, OK -- you got me there... actually, our difference lies not in the amenities we have provided for ourselves [picking bugs out of each others fur and eating them must get old after a while], but in the fact that we CAN provide and create those amenities. This to me brings one of the potential paths to true happiness and a distinction from our animal brethren -- intelligence.

Thanks to the images provided by Stanley Kubrick, at some point, some uppity primate figured out that using something more than themselves gave them a competitive advantage -- it's been pandemonium ever since. If you're really going to get angry at someone for getting us into this mess, I'd have to put the blame on Guttenberg. Having a class of intellectuals with their scribes keeping information in the hands of the relative few was a great way to consolidate power and maintain control -- Pandora's box [or at least one version] has to be the day when the written word could be reproduced in mass quantity and for a relatively low labor cost. Intelligence was no longer in the hands of the few -- great idea A could not only be passed on to more people, but the next person could take idea A and build upon it to idea B and so on. It cannot be coincidence that our human society spent thousands of years as mostly agrarian or hunting and gathering societies up to the production of the printing press -- then in a matter of 500 years [a rounding error from an archaeological perspective], we have TiVo, iPhones, nuclear weapons, etc. And not just from a technological perspective -- the theological and philosophical debates which were privy to the select few have also been allowed to scatter creating a cacophony of debates and opinions. Of course, that debate hasn't always been civil [to paraphrase Dennis Miller, millions have killed each other arguing who has the best 'imaginary friend'] -- but that's for another day.

So the door was opened, and now the brilliance of a few was allowed to be released into the hands of the many. Has this been a good thing? Has this led to happiness as a society and individuals? This is where it gets difficult -- we've gotten a taste of good and bad. As our population continues to grow in a confined space, we are forced to band together less out of protection and more out of necessity for lack of space. Remember, our original drive as a species for banding together was survival -- I don't think our primate brethren looked over the hill and said, 'my, those guys look cool -- let's hang out with them'. Because of this, we are challenged with determining the best means of co-existing -- democracy, socialism, benevolent autocracy, etc. We certainly haven't found the right one yet, as I don't believe anyone would argue that an utopian society exists on the planet today. So for all of our technological advances driven by our ability stand on the shoulders of our ancestors, learn their knowledge and apply it to new and interesting areas, we still have not solved the 'softer' issues which continue to plague us as a species. Morality, society, philosophy, theology -- these are so much more difficult to deal with compared to science and technology. By its design, science and engineering are best served by the printed word -- the next generation can move that step forward from the last -- it's simply a matter of posing the problem and solving it. For the other areas, dispersion of thought only creates a plethora of ideas without steps to solving them -- and in here I believe lies a core problem in today's society.

We continue to expand scientifically without morality and philosophy keeping up. We continue to expand technology without dealing with the societal impact. We've done a fantastic job as primates of creating a world with a lot of 'what', and have completely failed to answer the 'why'. Look at how it manifests itself in daily life -- even something as simple as Facebook; where I can brag about having hundreds of 'friends'. The reality is, I actually interact with only a handful -- I can count on one hand the people that are truly friends in the aspect of being people that I can call when needed, can confide in, etc. We've done a masterful job at creating better and better weapons, yet have failed to create the institutions and means of resolving conflict -- there's a recipe for success. So we're armed and angry as a species -- brilliant. We have technology that is supposed to make our lives easier -- anyone feel like their life is easier?

Am I arguing for a Luddite existence? No, but I do want to question why we do what we do. So much is done in this world without thinking about the consequences -- I would like to see a push to start looking at decisions made with a simple premise. We can argue politics, religion, morality -- at the end of the day, I believe that everyone could agree that we are here for a very simple premise: to be happy without infringing on the happiness of others. I'd take that one step further, that to bring happiness to others is the ultimate goal -- particularly when done without being at the expense of one's self. This is key -- maybe I will repeat it and bold it because most of what I argue and search for will key off of meeting this premise. We'll call it Damon's Law of Existence -- We are here to bring happiness to others and ourselves without taking away from or infringing on another's happiness.

To me, this is a key element that separates us from nearly all other creatures -- happiness. Pleasure -- a good laugh, a smile, an orgasm, whatever; I believe that as you move from simple to more complex creatures, one of the defining traits that has always been overlooked is the ability of the creature to feel and seek things that make them happy. Does this look simple and childish -- sure; yet I would argue that this should be the driving force in everyone's life. This is the measure to start applying each and everything we do, singularly and as a species, in order to determine its quality. Am I arguing for rampant hedonism? No -- hedonsim ultimately leads to my happiness at the expense of others -- breaking the primarily law above. Now take that statement and start applying it to aspects of your life. Did that iPhone add or subtract to above? Well, the Skee-Ball app is pretty cool, and my calendar helps keep me sane, but I have to work that much harder to pay the monthly bill. Probably a wash. How does religion stack up? Each and every religion has within it the tenets to achieve above -- at the base of the current pantheon of religions [Muslim and Judao-Christian primarily] is the desire to achieve personal happiness; in most cases via obediance to a protocol which promises happiness in this life or the next. I'll delve into religion later, but at first blush most aspects meet the requirement -- the dilemma comes in the INABILITY to accept other's religions, thereby infringing on the happiness [or even the life] of others.

So, I have a starting point -- and to it we can apply it to our pursuits to define a course of action. I started this by looking at the first of three sources of happiness -- intellectual pursuits. Although it doesn't seem like it, paint me an optimist -- I believe this can be one of the greatest sources of happiness for us as a species. I would also point to is as one of our most critical differences between other species -- that ability of self-recognition, self-motivation, and self-examination. Reading a good book, hearing other ideas and trying to search for the truth within -- these are genuine sources of happiness. In a TV driven culture, it is sad how much we resort to leaving intellectual discourse at the door in return for sound bites, the flavor of the week, and mindless entertainment. Having said that, there are still glimmers of hope out there -- unfortunately, it's usually on public TV or somewhere in the Discovery/Science channel pantheon. A good movie [which is really just a visual representation of a good story, or in some cases art in motion] can also be a source of intellectual happiness -- especially one that makes you step back and think. Please -- this blog is my outlet for pursuing such a course, and the more I write, the happier I become. It is less a cathartic act of getting my frustrations off my chest -- it is more a search for some real truth in existence and a template to live by in order to make my world and others a better place by increasing happiness throughout.

Is it working? Well, in my office, instead of working for the past hour, I've written above -- and I have to tell you, it's put a grin on my face. It's also allowed me to give voice to a premise that I hope is the base of more self-discovery which could lead to positive change in my life. And if it can work for me, who knows where it can go.

Next post, looking at the emotional sources of happiness -- let's try delving into love and other four letter words...