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What Makes You Happy ?

NWRatCon said:
I am very happy. I just spent 11 days on a road trip in an RV with just 3 of my siblings, exploring our roots and just hanging together. It was amazing. You'd think a bunch of 60-something curmudgeons would drive each other nuts, but it was exactly the opposite. VERY fulfilled.
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Sounds like a blast except for the RV part, sorry :)
 
HikerGuy83 said:
The function and priority of government seems to be at the heart of many of the reasonable discussion on this board.

I thought to start a couple of threads on the role of government, but as I podered the objectives of government, I kept coming back to considerations of what we might want in our lives. Or, in other words, what is it in our lives that fulfills us and makes us “happy”.

So I did some digging on the internet to get a basis for such a discussion.

In one article, it suggests that there are four things most of us consider key in our lives:

Happiness

Meaning

Success

Integrity

Another article lists 18 things that will help us have a more fullfilling life:

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/18-basic-rules-lead-fulfilling-life.html

This article talks about 5 elements of a fullfilled life:

https://mindbodyhypnotherapy.com/5-elements-of-a-fulfilled-life/

And there are many many more.

Changing directions:

I then followed up on something I heard a while ago about the happiest country. In 2021, it was Finland. Apparently, it’s been Finland for the past four years. Norway and Sweden are high on the list as is Denmark. This designation is based on some statistical analysis of a survey (I presume). It was interesting to read some of the thoughts on why the countries in this area are, based on self-reporting, very happy places to be.

Here was one look at Finland:

https://www.afar.com/magazine/7-lessons-learned-from-the-happiest-country-in-the-world

Again, very insightful.

And so I ask you to share in a conversation about what it is that you feel is fundamental to your basic, true joy or happiness.

We’ll use this discussion to springboard into a conversation about what it is that we are personally looking for from government and why it will contribute to your fundamental happiness.

Thank you in advance for staying on topic and sharing whatever you feel.
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Making people happy - making people laugh. That's what makes me happy.
 
I'm happy now.

Just got an email from a client's account stating that he was out of town and needed me to get a gift card for a friend of his that was struggling with some disease. I called the client because it was a rather obvious phishing email and he noted that he'd been hacked. I wrote the hacker back to inform him (or her) that he'd managed to hack the account of a law enforcement officer, which he had!
 
Playing pool with a friend I've known for almost 35 years.
We're very closely matched and sometimes he wins and sometimes I do but it's always fun.

It's been a while because I've had a few problems with sleep and concentration but finishing a good book is an epic feeling.
 
A beer and a good book on the balcony at sunset. Or in the bathtub if it's winter.
 
HikerGuy83 said:
The function and priority of government seems to be at the heart of many of the reasonable discussion on this board.

I thought to start a couple of threads on the role of government, but as I podered the objectives of government, I kept coming back to considerations of what we might want in our lives. Or, in other words, what is it in our lives that fulfills us and makes us “happy”.

So I did some digging on the internet to get a basis for such a discussion.

In one article, it suggests that there are four things most of us consider key in our lives:

Happiness

Meaning

Success

Integrity

Another article lists 18 things that will help us have a more fullfilling life:

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/18-basic-rules-lead-fulfilling-life.html

This article talks about 5 elements of a fullfilled life:

https://mindbodyhypnotherapy.com/5-elements-of-a-fulfilled-life/

And there are many many more.

Changing directions:

I then followed up on something I heard a while ago about the happiest country. In 2021, it was Finland. Apparently, it’s been Finland for the past four years. Norway and Sweden are high on the list as is Denmark. This designation is based on some statistical analysis of a survey (I presume). It was interesting to read some of the thoughts on why the countries in this area are, based on self-reporting, very happy places to be.

Here was one look at Finland:

https://www.afar.com/magazine/7-lessons-learned-from-the-happiest-country-in-the-world

Again, very insightful.

And so I ask you to share in a conversation about what it is that you feel is fundamental to your basic, true joy or happiness.

We’ll use this discussion to springboard into a conversation about what it is that we are personally looking for from government and why it will contribute to your fundamental happiness.

Thank you in advance for staying on topic and sharing whatever you feel.
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Doing what I do for a living and never working a day in my life.

Never having to push alarm clock buttons and be dictated by anyone where to be.

Never had a boss to make my life miserable. Never had to travel 2 hrs to and from work fighting in choking smog. Never had to be with people at work who were as miserable and unhappy as I.

Never once felt a slave to life in any way.
 
HikerGuy83 said:
Interesting perspective.

I know a lot of people who've turned off the TV.

Don't watch cable news anymore.

All profess to be better off (happier) for having done so.
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I'm happier without broadcast news of any stripe, but it doesn't lead to ignorance. I READ news that interests me, and I keep up with the weather forecast daily.

Happiness comes a lot from inside, not solely outside. Big fancy houses, cars and keeping up with Mrs. Jones has never been important to me. That's good because I never in my life was able to afford it. Enough money to pay the rent, heat, lights, phone and groceries is all I ever strived for. That and having a car that runs and a job that makes a difference. Little things of beauty are all around us--
...raindrop on roses
...whiskers on kittens
...bright copper kettles
...and warm woolen mittens

A hug,
A note from a far away friend,
Tiny wildflowers growing in my lawn
And sunny days and starry skies.
 
Mach said:
I use to get a lot of enjoyment from my work, but I retired.
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Same here, I used to get a ton of enjoyment from picking up a big fancy pro cinematography rig and capturing compelling footage and then editing it together into something useful or entertaining.
I amassed an enormous amount of gear to serve that purpose, too.

Now I have floaters in both eyes, and my visual acuity apart from the floaters is declining some as well, and my hearing is shot to Hell.
My wife can be lying next to me in bed and saying something nice and I have to lean over and ask her to repeat it.
Jeezus, laying right NEXT to me and I have to mute the TV and say "What?"...what a buzz kill.
But more important, it forced me to stop attempting to get professional level work because producers and directors aren't interested in a cameraman from the Mister Magoo crowd.
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Besides the obvious, health, wealth, family, and friends, it's the little pleasures in daily living that make me happy.
A good meal, a restful night's sleep, a hot shower, some entertainment (tv, movies, internet), etc.
 
grip said:
Besides the obvious, health, wealth, family, and friends, it's the little pleasures in daily living that make me happy.
A good meal, a restful night's sleep, a hot shower, some entertainment (tv, movies, internet), etc.
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👍 or an amazing BBS wet-shave in the morning with my favorite razor, DE blade, brush, and shaving soap
 
Experiencing and observing the beauty-- and often random violence of nature.
Mother Nature keeping our human egos in check.

This is what pleases me the most. To be a passenger on spaceship Earth.

But only for a little while.

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