This Saturday: a happiness quotation from Schopenhauer.

“To attain something desired is to discover how vain it is; and…though we live all our lives in expectation of better things, we often at the same time long regretfully for what is past. The present, on the other hand, is regarded as something quite temporary and serving only as the road to our goal. That is why most men discover when they look back on their life that they have the whole time been living ad interim, and are surprised to see that which they let go by so unregarded and unenjoyed was precisely their life, was precisely in expectation of which they lived.” --Schopenhauer

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Comments

[Peter J. Cranstone]

What a great quote. Happiness is always where you least expect - hiding in plain sight on the coffee table.

[Edwin]

That was pretty surprising: citing Schoppenhauer, widely known as the most pessimistic philosopher, for the Happines Project :-)

Another quote from him in the context of happines (I didn't look it up so it is not literally):

"The fact that the world is a very depressive and sad place is proven by the fact that when a baby is born, the first thing s(he) does is to cry".

I love reading Schoppenhauer for remakrs like this, but never too many pages at once - too risky ;-)

[Steve]

He has a point, that you have to enjoy the process, but I think he makes a bit too much of it in that passage. Many of the things I have obtained have not been in vain at all. You have to set goals for yourself otherwise you are in stasis.

[Sharyn]

John Lennon was just more concise - "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

[Donna Marie]

Brilliant and oh so true!! All of it is a matter of preoccupation -- too much worrying about/planning for the future and wishing things were different from the way they are often diminishes the happiness that is available in any given moment.

[tracy ho]

Great post, enjoy your article ,

To your success

Tracy Ho
wisdomgettingloaded

[Wafitos]

In my view, philosophers and social scientists who discussed happiness without reference to religious guidance are offering bewilderment and confusion to other people. It is easier to discuss that some people are happy or unhappy, in a narrow sense, but to tell them that there is a clear road to happiness is quite challenging and requires comprehensive study. Without religion and spirituality there is no objective and true happiness. People cannot attain true happiness without religious guidance. What they may attain is only a subjective and temporal happiness. Many theories emerge today deal with happiness in a mechanistic way and lack of meaning. A company called Friendsfirst in Ireland invented ‘The Happiness Index’ by which the happiness of a person is measured in a daily basis. Later on they admitted that it is implausible. There are studies conducted which suggest that happiness can be measured effectively. As if happiness equals to wealth. We know a person is unhappy by looking at the symptoms. Like we know a person is sick when we see the symptoms. However, unlike a healthy person a happy person is not measurable. This is because happiness is not only a psychological condition but also a spiritual condition.

Western conception of happiness depends so much upon material condition of a person. Aristotle followed by most contemporary social scientists and philosophers agree that happiness is psychological condition which depends on sensual satisfaction. According to this view, without material contentment no person can be happy. It is easy to talk about happiness when you are fortunate. This implies that unfortunate persons never experience happiness. And yet we know that they are sometimes happier than many normal persons. You are truly a happy person if you are still happy when something bad (calamity, being poor) happened to you. At time of disaster, your convictions and your happiness will be tested. At this time in particular human being, more than ever, needs God. His faith and trust of God will save him from depression and suicide attempts. Therefore, my point is that happiness can be achieved not only by fortunate persons but also by unfortunate persons i.e., the poor, the disable and even the imprisoned....
see www.happinessinislam.blogspot.com

[Tarun]

"What disturbs and depresses young people is the hunt for happiness on the firm assumption that it must be met with in life. From this arises constantly deluded hope and so also dissatisfaction. Deceptive images of a vague happiness hover before us in our dreams ... and we search in vain for their original ... Much would have been gained if through timely advice and instruction young people could have had eradicated from their minds the erroneous notion that the world has a great deal to offer them." - Arthur Schopenhauer

[poetryman69]

I am happy to see the sun rise over a still lake with ducks plying the peaceful waters. But I go to work anyway. Paradise still has to paid for.