Happiness

[QuantumT]

Happiness is something you lend. It can never be yours forever.

You can lend it for seconds, minutes, even hours and days, but you can only lend it. Never possess it.

So when you're happy, enjoy it! Don't think twice!

[Greta]

I find it best not to know if I am happy or unhappy. I just do things and sometimes I feel better than at other times.

I tend to measure my "performance" by productivity and health. Have I gotten that done which needed to be done? Have I made progress in projects? And, at my age and situation, my focus is increasingly on the ailment causing most problems at any given time. Mostly I am too busy dealing with physical ailments to much care about whatever emotional state I have

I'd say I'm usually at my most content when bushwalking with the dog (when my feet aren't sore) or when a story idea arrives.

[Dalek Prime]

I'm happy when expections are exceeded. Pretty easy, considering my expectations are crap raining down from the heavens and such.

I think you meant to say 'borrowed', btw. Everything we have is only on loan, anyway.

[Dubious]

Think less to feel happier
Think more to feel crappier.

[Dalek Prime]

Think less to feel happier
Think more to feel crappier.

True. Wish I could do that.

[Dubious]

Think less to feel happier
Think more to feel crappier.

True. Wish I could do that.

Me too! Easier said then done! Whether I think more or think less, I get depressed either way.

[Greta]

Think less to feel happier
Think more to feel crappier.

True. Wish I could do that.

Me too! Easier said then done! Whether I think more or think less, I get depressed either way.

I find the news is the thing that most sucks out my happiness, reading about the unbalanced fanatics and egomaniacs that people elect to office. Ugh.

So I switch to the science section for happy ideas ... Great Barrier Reef dying, getting hotter, droughts, floods, ecosystems dying, governments selling out to fossil fuel companies ... ugh, what about space? ... Trump's new missile defence system, the hazards of space junk, dangerous atmospheric changes ... maybe the health section? Cancer. Finding out that your favourite foods are considered dangerous poisons ...

Once it was a luxury to relax in the morning and read the newspaper. Now the news is the perfect way to start your day out on the wrong foot.

[Dalek Prime]

True. Wish I could do that.

Me too! Easier said then done! Whether I think more or think less, I get depressed either way.

I find the news is the thing that most sucks out my happiness, reading about the unbalanced fanatics and egomaniacs that people elect to office. Ugh.

So I switch to the science section for happy ideas ... Great Barrier Reef dying, getting hotter, droughts, floods, ecosystems dying, governments selling out to fossil fuel companies ... ugh, what about space? ... Trump's new missile defence system, the hazards of space junk, dangerous atmospheric changes ... maybe the health section? Cancer. Finding out that your favourite foods are considered dangerous poisons ...

Once it was a luxury to relax in the morning and read the newspaper. Now the news is the perfect way to start your day out on the wrong foot.

There's a good article in the Guardian that says quite elegantly that reading the news is bad for you. And I've always noticed that the angriest people are the ones who read it and talk about it. There's nothing I can do about what I read, and so I try not to read it. I'll hear about the important stuff eventually, either way.

Ah, here it is... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/ ... lf-dobelli

[SpheresOfBalance]

Happiness is something you lend. It can never be yours forever.

You can lend it for seconds, minutes, even hours and days, but you can only lend it. Never possess it.

So when you're happy, enjoy it! Don't think twice!

To me happiness is when I'm carefree, when I'm singing in the rain, when I wonder about the beauty of the cosmos, the earth, and life in all it's diversity. And almost always when I'm listening to great music that incorporates virtuoso instrumentation and/or poignant lyrics. Yes, I'll actually be dancing around the room.

[Greta]

Me too! Easier said then done! Whether I think more or think less, I get depressed either way.

I find the news is the thing that most sucks out my happiness, reading about the unbalanced fanatics and egomaniacs that people elect to office. Ugh.

So I switch to the science section for happy ideas ... Great Barrier Reef dying, getting hotter, droughts, floods, ecosystems dying, governments selling out to fossil fuel companies ... ugh, what about space? ... Trump's new missile defence system, the hazards of space junk, dangerous atmospheric changes ... maybe the health section? Cancer. Finding out that your favourite foods are considered dangerous poisons ...

Once it was a luxury to relax in the morning and read the newspaper. Now the news is the perfect way to start your day out on the wrong foot.

There's a good article in the Guardian that says quite elegantly that reading the news is bad for you. And I've always noticed that the angriest people are the ones who read it and talk about it. There's nothing I can do about what I read, and so I try not to read it. I'll hear about the important stuff eventually, either way.

Ah, here it is... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/ ... lf-dobelli

I must have missed that one while trying to avoid the news

[Dalek Prime]

I find the news is the thing that most sucks out my happiness, reading about the unbalanced fanatics and egomaniacs that people elect to office. Ugh.

So I switch to the science section for happy ideas ... Great Barrier Reef dying, getting hotter, droughts, floods, ecosystems dying, governments selling out to fossil fuel companies ... ugh, what about space? ... Trump's new missile defence system, the hazards of space junk, dangerous atmospheric changes ... maybe the health section? Cancer. Finding out that your favourite foods are considered dangerous poisons ...

Once it was a luxury to relax in the morning and read the newspaper. Now the news is the perfect way to start your day out on the wrong foot.

There's a good article in the Guardian that says quite elegantly that reading the news is bad for you. And I've always noticed that the angriest people are the ones who read it and talk about it. There's nothing I can do about what I read, and so I try not to read it. I'll hear about the important stuff eventually, either way.

Ah, here it is... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/ ... lf-dobelli

I must have missed that one while trying to avoid the news

'I can gather all the news I need on the weather report....'

-Simon & Garfunkel.

[Dubious]

Me too! Easier said then done! Whether I think more or think less, I get depressed either way.

I find the news is the thing that most sucks out my happiness, reading about the unbalanced fanatics and egomaniacs that people elect to office. Ugh.

So I switch to the science section for happy ideas ... Great Barrier Reef dying, getting hotter, droughts, floods, ecosystems dying, governments selling out to fossil fuel companies ... ugh, what about space? ... Trump's new missile defence system, the hazards of space junk, dangerous atmospheric changes ... maybe the health section? Cancer. Finding out that your favourite foods are considered dangerous poisons ...

Once it was a luxury to relax in the morning and read the newspaper. Now the news is the perfect way to start your day out on the wrong foot.

There's a good article in the Guardian that says quite elegantly that reading the news is bad for you. And I've always noticed that the angriest people are the ones who read it and talk about it. There's nothing I can do about what I read, and so I try not to read it. I'll hear about the important stuff eventually, either way.

Ah, here it is... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/ ... lf-dobelli

Excellent article! makes a lot of good points especially valid under more normal conditions. But the ubiquitous question which causes the most symptoms of depression - already rampant among many - which you'll hear even if you try to avoid all news is the most significant one of all in the present age...will this be the new normal! The answer to that very pessimistically inclines to yes...until it gets worse.

The point being, we're surrounded by the worst kind of life-changing events which requires no media whatsoever to acknowledge; many on the planet are already living it or witnessing it with many more to come. Turning off the news is a good idea in itself to avoid constipating the brain with useless and redundant crap but I don't think most people will feel much better in spite of creating media silence.

[Dalek Prime]

I find the news is the thing that most sucks out my happiness, reading about the unbalanced fanatics and egomaniacs that people elect to office. Ugh.

So I switch to the science section for happy ideas ... Great Barrier Reef dying, getting hotter, droughts, floods, ecosystems dying, governments selling out to fossil fuel companies ... ugh, what about space? ... Trump's new missile defence system, the hazards of space junk, dangerous atmospheric changes ... maybe the health section? Cancer. Finding out that your favourite foods are considered dangerous poisons ...

Once it was a luxury to relax in the morning and read the newspaper. Now the news is the perfect way to start your day out on the wrong foot.

There's a good article in the Guardian that says quite elegantly that reading the news is bad for you. And I've always noticed that the angriest people are the ones who read it and talk about it. There's nothing I can do about what I read, and so I try not to read it. I'll hear about the important stuff eventually, either way.

Ah, here it is... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/ ... lf-dobelli

Excellent article! makes a lot of good points especially valid under more normal conditions. But the ubiquitous question which causes the most symptoms of depression - already rampant among many - which you'll hear even if you try to avoid all news is the most important one of all in the present age...will this be the new normal! The answer to that very pessimistically inclines to yes...until it gets worse.

The point being, we're surrounded by the worst kind of life-changing events which requires no media whatsoever to acknowledge; many on the planet are already living it. with many more to come. Turning off the news is a good idea in itself to avoid constipating the brain with useless, redundant, boring crap but I don't think you'll feel much better in spite of creating medial silence.

It actually works for me Dub. The less I read the news or fight it out on the CBC News website, the better I feel. I should really do the same regarding elections and voting, because not once has my vote ever made a difference in the outcome, and I always check to see if someone won by one, or a few. I've got maybe 20 years left on this planet, and I'm not leaving anyone behind, so why worry?

[Dubious]

I've got maybe 20 years left on this planet, and I'm not leaving anyone behind, so why worry?

You unlucky slob! I only have - based on probability & statistics - a tenth of that time left on my incarceration. Knew I'd beat you at something eventually! I'm not leaving anyone behind either which makes me wonder, what the hell am I still doing here!

...put another way

But now the twilight seems more mellow
than all the days of remembrance past;
the hues of time from green to yellow
shall fade to black and be blest at last.

[Dalek Prime]

I've got maybe 20 years left on this planet, and I'm not leaving anyone behind, so why worry?

You unlucky slob! I only have - based on probability & statistics - a tenth of that time left on my incarceration. Knew I'd beat you at something eventually! I'm not leaving anyone behind either which makes me wonder, what the hell am I still doing here!

...put another way

But now the twilight seems more mellow
than all the days of remembrance past;
the hues of time from green to yellow
shall fade to black and be blest at last.

I wonder the same about myself, Dub, what I'm still doing here. I had forgotten that you were not in good health these days, and didn't mean to bring longevity up to make you think about it. You're one of my faves here, Dub.

It really does feel like a prison sentence, though. Life that is.