Remember that time when Adam partook of the fruit? This catapulted him from a constant, static state into a state where he could experience the bitter and the sweet. I hypothesize that there is a happiness gradient and that the happier you are, the more potential to be sad and vice versa.
My own life validates this principle. There have been times when I didn't really get that excited about anything. Nothing made me extremely happy, and hence I also never got that sad. I was just kind of living the Garden of Eden life. Other periods of life have included much more polar feelings. On my mission, for instance, I had moments when I haven't been happier. I also had moments when I was the most sad. Also, there is something about dancing that makes me happy. When I used to dance regularly, I would experience peaks of happiness, but during this same time I would marvel at how crappy I would sometimes feel for no apparent reason.
Drugs also confirm my hypothesis. Some drugs make people feel extraordinarily good. The user feels temporarily happier, but the 'high' is inevitably followed by unhappiness. Other drugs are used to make individuals feel less bipolar. By numbing the mind, the drug removes much of the capacity of feeling really happy or sad.
The rich and the famous are another interesting example. While this group may not be the most unhappy, it sometimes seems that way given that the media publicizes all their problems. One reason why they are unhappy, even though they have so much, may stem from the polarity reason. The more the potential for happiness, the more the potential for unhappiness.
This leads me to pose a question: What would you prefer? Would you rather have a more consistent, less fluctuating level of happiness or the more turbulent lifestyle that goes through extreme highs and lows. For me, the answer to this probably depends on my mood. Sometimes I'm up for some roller coaster riding, other times I prefer to avoid the trouble and hassle.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
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8 comments:
Things that make me happy: when people update their blog. Thus, Trent's blog has consistently made be happy lately. I don't like being sad, "men are that they might have joy," but after I'm sad, when I become happy again, the happiness is that much sweeter.
I much prefer feeling the sharp emotions of life (happy or sad) rather than living in emotional monotony. For me at least, it's usually a good indication that I'm actively living my life and thus actively progressing. I think it's part of the cycle of receiving truth, then being expected to live up to that truth by, as Elder Maxwell says, "being righteous in the dark" (which is often when those "crappy times" come). On the other hand, emotional monotony usually correlates to flat periods in my life, which I always try to avoid (though not always successfully).
That is a very interesting observation. I think I'd side with you in saying that I'd like both, but it depends on my mood. Like you say, roller coasters can be good for variety and change, but I wouldn't like to be on one for my entire life.
Renny, thanks for making me happy.
Kia, I think you speak the truth. When we're in our comfort zone, and not risking that much, we can't be as happy. But I don't think the analysis should extend too extreme or else I would probably feel like I need to sweep the streets of Iraq or something.
Shauna, I'm glad we're on the same page.
Life happens. There's good, there's bad, you deal with it, and you keep on living. Of course being happy is better than ever feeling sad. After all, we are supposed to be happy in life. Balance is a must!
emotions have been on my mind A LOT lately, having been through just about every one of them, in their most raw forms over the last month. (plus, i'm currently reading "emotional intelligence" by daniel goleman-- SO insightful!)
one thing i've realized, and coming from the eternal perspective you start this post in, is that love, one of the most joyful things we can feel in life, actually hurts quite deeply, and when we suffer, bleed, and die with christ, we're experiencing the rawness of life for ourselves, and seeing our hearts being stretched out and prepared for godhood. thus a broken heart, a soft heart, one that can be opened and stretched, having a greater capacity; so that eventually we'll have enough love for all of humanity, room to make a new humanity of our own.
it's the contrast that builds the heights and depths, the new dimensions we'll eventually transcend. so, in a way, i think the good and the bad, the happiness and the sadness, all the opposites are all part of one great whole. and when we can overcome the "self" ore selfishnes (giving way meaning and purpose) we can experience all emotions for what they really are-- this one great whole.
ie. it's all good ;)
I love this entry! It is really thought provoking! I think I prefer knowing the bitter from the sweet.
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