Looking for happiness in the everyday

March 22, 2013 9:29 AM

What's on your HappyList? [SLYT] Previously.
posted by holmesian (16 comments total)

This is, as far as I can tell, a big reason that Eastern religions stress the practice of "being in the moment" - because that type of experience IS what your actual life (and, not coincidentally, actual happiness) is made up of. Most of us are too preoccupied by being-in-our-heads/work/media/buying-stuff to notice them often enough.

Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans. -- Allen Saunders

At the end, as we look back across all that other crap, it's the moments we were Paying Attention that mean the most to us.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:54 AM on March 22, 2013 [6 favorites]

Ahh, that was exquisite. Thank you Greg_Ace for the lovely treasure.
posted by nickyskye at 10:31 AM on March 22, 2013

"being in the moment" - because that type of experience IS what your actual life

The concept of actively 'being in the moment' does pose some perplexing problems, though.

Kidding and British grumpery aside, creating a list of simple things that give you the "Ah, this is nice" feeling is in itself a good tool to recalibrate one's perspective in the midst of a "Oh, come on! WTF? When will this torrent of shit events stop and I can just go back to bed" feeling.
posted by chambers at 10:53 AM on March 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Lovely little video - thank you for posting it.

If the topic interests you and you've got an hour to spend, this is well worth your time.
posted by jbickers at 10:57 AM on March 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

I think about this every time I see someone walking through a park or past flowers or down a beautiful, springtime street with his head down, looking at his smartphone, oblivious to everything else. Perhaps he pities me for being less current on my emails.

Oh, and zefrank needs to meet Jennifer Bock.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:03 AM on March 22, 2013

This discussion seems to be a good place to put this little Alan Watts piece, with animation from Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
posted by chambers at 11:07 AM on March 22, 2013 [5 favorites]

Oh man, lifting up a stone that's sat in the dirt for a long time.
posted by Lutoslawski at 11:12 AM on March 22, 2013

I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is." – Kurt Vonnegut

One of my favorite quotes
posted by Strass at 12:48 PM on March 22, 2013 [9 favorites]

Whenever I read/hear about "living in the moment" I always think of this comic.
posted by rouftop at 1:25 PM on March 22, 2013 [3 favorites]

finding the "still point of the turning world" is no small thing.

thanks for this.
posted by jammy at 2:14 PM on March 22, 2013

I LOLed at YouTube's ad that popped up on the lower third of this video "Is Obama to Blame" (newsmax,com survey)
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:16 PM on March 22, 2013

My happylist have several things on it, but first and foremost: being on a train.
posted by dry white toast at 6:01 PM on March 22, 2013

*ah, drat, I meant to thank holmesian. Thank you holmesian for the lovely treasure.
posted by nickyskye at 7:12 PM on March 22, 2013

*pout* There goes my happiness for the day...

;)
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:23 PM on March 22, 2013

At night I seem to hear someone thinking of me in the distance. The next day I go to call on him. I enter his door and look about his room and see that this person is sitting at his desk, facing south, reading a document. He sees me, nods quietly and pulls me by the sleeve to make me sit down, saying, “Since you are here, come and look at this.” And we laugh and enjoy ourselves until the shadows on the walls have disappeared. He is feeling hungry himself and slowly asks me, "Are you hungry, too?" Ah, is this not happiness?

--From Chin's 33 Happy Moments
posted by mjklin at 8:38 PM on March 23, 2013

A good way to start today. I've been spending WAY too much time looking down the road.
posted by HuronBob at 3:19 AM on March 26, 2013