"I think and think and think, I‘ve thought myself out of happiness one million times, but never once into it." ~ Jonathan Safran Foer
"Misery is almost always the result of thinking." ~Joseph Joubert
Welcome to my first blog post!
Its purpose is to make sense of life and to learn living it happily. To that end I will post my musings triggered by books, works of art and life itself. I also plan to get to the root of what makes people happy and share it with everybody! Your comments are welcome and appreciated. I hope for heated discussions, as we all know that "in a dispute born truth".
Some think that thinking too much will drive you away from happiness. Others wonder how do we live the life and not think about it, not trying to make sense of it?
Buddhism and Yoga teach us that the ultimate goal is to quiet the mind, clear it of any thoughts. Our tangled thoughts are the only barrier between us and bliss.
Well, I enjoy the thinking process and a stimulating debate as much, if not more than a delicious meal. In fact, I hold that a meal will nourish us for several hours, whereas a good discussion may nourish our minds for life. It may even change our lives. No meal can do that (that I am aware of, unless you consider poisoning :))
So what do you think is the best way to understand it all: try and clear your mind, or nourish it with life-changing (or possibly "poisoning") thoughts?
Let the discussion begin!
Way to go !!!
ReplyDeleteAlways think, even though ignorance is bliss. Did I confuse everybody even more :)
alex gilb,
Deletethank you for your comment.
I think that it is the peril of thinking people - they know ignorance is bliss, but still they choose to think.
I agree that it's a bit confusing, but so is life itself.
Let's try and make sense of it together.
Olga, you started writing on a very important subject. My opinion is that thinking process is inevitable. It's part of being human. In order to think "happy" though, you should clear your mind first. This (clearing your mind) is a challenging task for many of us. How is it exactly do you clear it and what are the things that should indeed be cleared? How do you draw a line between thoughts about morale, ethics, obligation and those "poisoning" thoughts?
ReplyDeleteValerie,
Deletethat's what makes it a philosophical question - there is merit to both possibilities. But even as I recognize that clearing the mind of thoughts (and I believe that one has to get rid of all thoughts, even moral ones) may bring us to a different plane, personally, I am so far from it, that I choose the thinking option.
Besides, how do you know that thoughts about morale and ethics are not poisoning? There are plenty of instances throughout the history of world leaders believing it was their moral obligation and highly ethical to go to wars, etc. Morale is different for everyone. Maybe one of my next posts will be about how there is not absolute good or bad.
Appreciate your comment, keep them coming :)
I'm ready for the next post about good or bad!
DeleteValerie,
Deletethe power of thoughts is astounding. Thoughts can heal us - emotionally and physically, or harm us. Thoughts largely constitute our essence, what we are, what makes us individual and different. They are fascinating!
Highly recommended book on the topic "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner. Although I must say, I hope that my Barbeque last Saturday provided nourishment for more then several hours :)
ReplyDeleteYury,
Deletethank you for the recommendation.
Human beings are curious creatures - we may like to discuss higher topics and abstract ideas, but all of it is quickly forgotten when we are hungry.
So thank you for feeding the hungry and letting them indulge in the betterment of the human race :)