I recently ran across this quote from a respectable figure ...
"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination"
~ Mark Twain
It made me cringe. I was kind of working up to a post about it, but hadn't really fleshed it all out and didn't want to write about it right then. Partly because of this, and partly because I didn't want it to be a rant against Twain, or the quote, or a rant at all. I wanted it to be a more disciplined analysis, I guess. Something real and solid. And real. So what did I do? I added pics of stupid cartoons, that's what.
Then I (re)stumbled upon Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project at the always excellent Slate.com. She spent years looking at and studying happiness for her book and hypothises that its a myth that happy people are annoying & stupid. I can't encourage you enough to read this first one. It notes that happiness has nearly everything going for it as far as outlook, friendliness, success, life fullfillment, work success, etc. Yet people still make comments like this one...
"Happy people are idiots." Thank you Charles de Gaulle - you idiot.
"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination"
~ Mark Twain
It made me cringe. I was kind of working up to a post about it, but hadn't really fleshed it all out and didn't want to write about it right then. Partly because of this, and partly because I didn't want it to be a rant against Twain, or the quote, or a rant at all. I wanted it to be a more disciplined analysis, I guess. Something real and solid. And real. So what did I do? I added pics of stupid cartoons, that's what.
Then I (re)stumbled upon Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project at the always excellent Slate.com. She spent years looking at and studying happiness for her book and hypothises that its a myth that happy people are annoying & stupid. I can't encourage you enough to read this first one. It notes that happiness has nearly everything going for it as far as outlook, friendliness, success, life fullfillment, work success, etc. Yet people still make comments like this one...
"Happy people are idiots." Thank you Charles de Gaulle - you idiot.
Rubin asks...
"I often wonder why happiness has such a bad reputation. It's more pleasant to be happy, and it's more pleasant to be around happy people, and it's more challenging to be happier than to be less happy—why is happiness so often maligned and seen as lazy and easy?"
Anyway, I pretty much agree with her. Being unhappy, unfulfilled or disgruntled is always cast as the "cool" attitude. Its Leo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road, its the theme of a host of suburban angst movies starting in my mind with, but I'm sure much earlier, American Beauty. Meanwhile, the happy guy is always borderline mentally damaged, ala Forest Gump. But happiness is a much harder state to achieve, especially in these trying times. As Rubin asks, why the bad rap?
A few reasons, really. Its bad form to brag. Since happiness is like money - while distained its still sought after as more ideal than not - its not polite to point it out that you've got vaults full of the stuff stored at the bank. As a corrollary, happy people are by their nature content with themselves and probably don't find a need to point it out.
Unhappy people on the other hand, have a natural, or learned, disposition to see the negative. Negative infers conflict, and great conflict makes for great books, movies, plays, et al. Thus, the most unhappy person gets an audience and viola, he's a respected voice on nearly any topic he wishes to spout off on. Happiness included. Twain, for instance, was a great writer and sometimes wise thinker. But honestly, what gives him any rep as far as happiness goes? Quiet honestly, the quote alone pretty much exhibits his lack of familiarity with happiness. As does De Gaulles.
I'll end with these two things....
A) look around you. Things, no matter how bad they are, could be worse, both on a macro, and generally, on a micro level. We live in a prosperous, thriving time, even considering the recent downturn. There is almost NO circumstance where you couldn't have it worse, either today, or sometime in the past. (Wow - happy people really are idiots! And annoying! lol.)
B) the remainder of the Rubin's 10 myths..
people are unable to raise their level of happiness
Venting anger relieves it
Insisting on "the best" makes you happier
A treat will cheer you up
Money can't buy happiness
doing "random acts of kindness" brings happiness
"you'll be happy as soon as..."
Spending time alone will make you happy
Its selfish to try to be happier.
I'll probably blog these more over the next couple weeks, but that's it for now.
"I often wonder why happiness has such a bad reputation. It's more pleasant to be happy, and it's more pleasant to be around happy people, and it's more challenging to be happier than to be less happy—why is happiness so often maligned and seen as lazy and easy?"
Anyway, I pretty much agree with her. Being unhappy, unfulfilled or disgruntled is always cast as the "cool" attitude. Its Leo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road, its the theme of a host of suburban angst movies starting in my mind with, but I'm sure much earlier, American Beauty. Meanwhile, the happy guy is always borderline mentally damaged, ala Forest Gump. But happiness is a much harder state to achieve, especially in these trying times. As Rubin asks, why the bad rap?
A few reasons, really. Its bad form to brag. Since happiness is like money - while distained its still sought after as more ideal than not - its not polite to point it out that you've got vaults full of the stuff stored at the bank. As a corrollary, happy people are by their nature content with themselves and probably don't find a need to point it out.
Unhappy people on the other hand, have a natural, or learned, disposition to see the negative. Negative infers conflict, and great conflict makes for great books, movies, plays, et al. Thus, the most unhappy person gets an audience and viola, he's a respected voice on nearly any topic he wishes to spout off on. Happiness included. Twain, for instance, was a great writer and sometimes wise thinker. But honestly, what gives him any rep as far as happiness goes? Quiet honestly, the quote alone pretty much exhibits his lack of familiarity with happiness. As does De Gaulles.
I'll end with these two things....
A) look around you. Things, no matter how bad they are, could be worse, both on a macro, and generally, on a micro level. We live in a prosperous, thriving time, even considering the recent downturn. There is almost NO circumstance where you couldn't have it worse, either today, or sometime in the past. (Wow - happy people really are idiots! And annoying! lol.)
B) the remainder of the Rubin's 10 myths..
people are unable to raise their level of happiness
Venting anger relieves it
Insisting on "the best" makes you happier
A treat will cheer you up
Money can't buy happiness
doing "random acts of kindness" brings happiness
"you'll be happy as soon as..."
Spending time alone will make you happy
Its selfish to try to be happier.
I'll probably blog these more over the next couple weeks, but that's it for now.
*** The images in this post are not my own. These images may be protected by copyright laws. I'm probably in violation of one copyright law or another for using these images. Not something I relish or support, but if someone confirms that I am, or asks that I take them down, I will. Right now, I'm considering them used under the "fair use" doctrine and thus legal. ***
Hmm, see I would have to disagree with your theory on Twain. I don't see him as saying that idiots or mentally ill people are the only happy ones (or vice versa). I see it as "if you're happy, then you're a little bit crazy, which makes you a little bit happier." I feel it's a bit more tongue-in-cheek than straight out statement.
ReplyDeleteIt also calls into fact "What is happiness?" and "what is sanity?" Who is to judge?
I feel that to be happy, you have to be a little bit insane. But I don't think that's a bad thing at all. Life's crazy, happiness should be too!
Miriam-Webster: sanity - soundness of health and mind.
ReplyDeleteSo Twain's saying you can't be of sound health and mind AND happy. You're probably correct, he's speaking more tongue in cheek. Still...
I'll expound more in an upcoming post (I know you can't wait!) on why I don't think you have to be insane to be happy, and why it helps to not be.