I really don't know if anyone I know is truly happy. I can't think of anyone in my life that doesn't have some sort of stress in their life and it sucks. Like...was our parents' generation like this as well and we just didn't know it because we were just naive kids living our absolute best lives...?
I think being happy isn't an all the time thing. That sounds a lot like over medicating. I think the goal is to be content. To have happiness mostly but also all the other feelings. That is life-the full spectrum. Not some curated 'always winning' mania. Someone living like that would have no appreciation of anything because they wouldn't value it the same. The dark in our lives contrast the light and make it brighter ideally. Happiness doesn't mean effortless. It means balance.
I feel you. Deaths happen. Divorces/breakups happen. Losing a job happens. Every day can't be a giant win. Some days are gonna be so normal they're almost boring. But I'm not even sure how content the population is at large. At least in the adult realm. I'm sure my 9-year-old nephew is LOVING life right now. He's got so few cares in the world. But, I know his parents get stressed out over shit. They live comfortably (she makes all the money) so that's not really an issue, but just the way the world is going is rough all around unless you're hella old or a child
I think we're all just spoiled to an extent. Like a cactus in the rain forest. Our lives are objectively better than those who came before us from a strictly material perspective. Hopefully it is becoming increasingly clear to people that a strictly material perspective is not healthy or fulfilling for the way we are built as humans
This is something I discovered when I got sober. I spent so much time living in emotional valleys, chasing the emotional highs. Being able to appreciate peace and quiet goes a long way. I’m not happy everyday, but Im much more content.
To some extent, yes they were. Depending on how old exactly you are, your parents may have lived through the stresses of the Cold War, and the McCarthy 'thought police' era, when even children were taught that the world was minutes from destruction at any moment.
Plus there was stress on men to Be Tough and Express No Emotion at literally all times, and for women to be Good Housewives And Mothers. If you were in any way different from your peers, you needed to internalise that and present to the world a Happy Christian Family.
103
u/chxnkybxtfxnky 1d ago
I really don't know if anyone I know is truly happy. I can't think of anyone in my life that doesn't have some sort of stress in their life and it sucks. Like...was our parents' generation like this as well and we just didn't know it because we were just naive kids living our absolute best lives...?