You have probably noticed the irony of the situation: I am asking a bot to tell me what it means to be happy. That most wanted of human emotions, the epitome of a life well-lived. What does a bot know about being happy? Let us see; with genuine curiosity, I pull out my phone and summon google: Hey Google: "What is happiness?" and the answer came immediately: "Happiness is the state of being happy." Okay ... that's pretty accurate, a correct response that did not answer my question. So I tried again: "Define happiness." and got this answer:
1) feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.
2) having a sense of trust and confidence in (a person, arrangement, or situation).
3) satisfied with the quality or standard of.
4) willing to do something.
5) fortunate and convenient.
It threw a list of definitions pertaining to the syntactical meaning of the word. Correct indeed but not what I wanted. This answer is dry as a cracker; It's almost too correct that it hurts me with its triviality. Nonetheless, interesting. I should try again and ask google a more accurate question: Hey google: "What does it mean to be happy?" And then it answered the following:
"Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction."
Now, this is a broader definition that feels a little more human. However still a little dry because it defines an emotion by the existence of other positive emotions.
You have to know what contentment, joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction mean. Otherwise, they are just empty words.
So, what is happiness after all? Let us first see what it is not. It is not a thing - something you can touch, taste, smell, or look at. It is not a person or an experience. Nor is it a physical place. And yet, we humans often associate happiness with all of these things.
If I say the word bucket, you know at once what I am talking about. When I say I want to be happy, it may not be clear. You may picture me smiling or laughing, being all giggly, and that's about it.
Why is that? Because happiness is a highly dynamic process of the mind that entails experiences, wants, and even people. It is a term that is constantly being adjusted and redefined in accordance with one's most intimate desires and needs. Just like freedom or love, there is no universal definition for these terms that we can all agree on. They change and evolve over time, along with us, as we mature.
For this reason, I believe the first step in the quest to happiness is to really think about what it means for you to be happy. Otherwise, you might as well be chasing the wind or a mirage.
I would even dismiss the term happiness altogether, as I find it deceiving at times, mainly because of the prevalent ideas associated with it in our capitalistic society. We have long been lured into buying stuff with commercials showing happy families, happy friends, and happy couples.
I'm sorry to break it for you; These people do not exist, and neither does their happiness. If you have fallen for this ideal of happiness, then you have been duped and brainwashed. Let it go immediately and look within yourself. What makes you feel alive? Inspired, curious, and feeling like you have everything you need?
To my mind, happiness is not an end goal, and I have discarded it as a term because it doesn't convey the meaning I want to express no matter how well I dress the context. It's confusing. It leaves room for interpretation. Contentment or, even better, joy - those seem like more tangible, accessible emotions.
Emotions are also essential to notice and pay attention to. The moment you discover a new feeling, cognise the trigger. Observe what it inspires in you; is it something desirable or not? Precisely, would you repeat the experience that led to that feeling?
Ultimately, you can also think of happiness as the absence of unhappiness and thus the systematic elimination of all factors that make you unhappy.
What is happiness for you?
1) feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.
2) having a sense of trust and confidence in (a person, arrangement, or situation).
3) satisfied with the quality or standard of.
4) willing to do something.
5) fortunate and convenient.
It threw a list of definitions pertaining to the syntactical meaning of the word. Correct indeed but not what I wanted. This answer is dry as a cracker; It's almost too correct that it hurts me with its triviality. Nonetheless, interesting. I should try again and ask google a more accurate question: Hey google: "What does it mean to be happy?" And then it answered the following:
"Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction."
Now, this is a broader definition that feels a little more human. However still a little dry because it defines an emotion by the existence of other positive emotions.
You have to know what contentment, joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction mean. Otherwise, they are just empty words.
So, what is happiness after all? Let us first see what it is not. It is not a thing - something you can touch, taste, smell, or look at. It is not a person or an experience. Nor is it a physical place. And yet, we humans often associate happiness with all of these things.
If I say the word bucket, you know at once what I am talking about. When I say I want to be happy, it may not be clear. You may picture me smiling or laughing, being all giggly, and that's about it.
Why is that? Because happiness is a highly dynamic process of the mind that entails experiences, wants, and even people. It is a term that is constantly being adjusted and redefined in accordance with one's most intimate desires and needs. Just like freedom or love, there is no universal definition for these terms that we can all agree on. They change and evolve over time, along with us, as we mature.
For this reason, I believe the first step in the quest to happiness is to really think about what it means for you to be happy. Otherwise, you might as well be chasing the wind or a mirage.
I would even dismiss the term happiness altogether, as I find it deceiving at times, mainly because of the prevalent ideas associated with it in our capitalistic society. We have long been lured into buying stuff with commercials showing happy families, happy friends, and happy couples.
I'm sorry to break it for you; These people do not exist, and neither does their happiness. If you have fallen for this ideal of happiness, then you have been duped and brainwashed. Let it go immediately and look within yourself. What makes you feel alive? Inspired, curious, and feeling like you have everything you need?
To my mind, happiness is not an end goal, and I have discarded it as a term because it doesn't convey the meaning I want to express no matter how well I dress the context. It's confusing. It leaves room for interpretation. Contentment or, even better, joy - those seem like more tangible, accessible emotions.
Emotions are also essential to notice and pay attention to. The moment you discover a new feeling, cognise the trigger. Observe what it inspires in you; is it something desirable or not? Precisely, would you repeat the experience that led to that feeling?
Ultimately, you can also think of happiness as the absence of unhappiness and thus the systematic elimination of all factors that make you unhappy.
What is happiness for you?
and
You have probably noticed the irony of the situation: I am asking a bot to tell me what it means to be happy. That most wanted of human emotions, the epitome of a life well-lived. What does a bot know about being happy?
I love the irony of humans -- filled with emotions -- going to ask an emotionless bot what is happiness.