ktmeng/mec huggingface dataset:
Topic: happiness

In conclusion, due to Aldous Huxley’s book, Brave New World, there is much more to life than making sure one gets everything they want whenever they want. There is no purpose in this concept because with this comes to no individuality and the inability to express one’s emotion. Pursuing happiness does not mean one will feel happy, one will become happy if they live a life that has meaning. If one decided to chase a life filled with happiness, they will be satisfied for a little, but it does not exactly mean they are happy. Pursuing meaning, though, will make someone more confident in themselves because they are chasing after something that is bigger than them. The end result will supply worth into life and show an individual the importance of their life.
Topic: happiness

Historically, society has created irrational (but enchanting) beliefs in order to fabricate reality and make our life extraordinary. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny are all strong-held childhood beliefs that are encouraged by parents through tradition. Accepting these beliefs as real set children up to be embittered and disappointed by the natural reality of holidays, yet parents still keep the holiday spirit afloat to some extent: parents buy the gifts; parents fill the stockings; parents lay out the eggs in the yard.
Topic: happiness

In the Awakening, Kate Chopin portrays a society that disregards what the main character, Edna, stands for. Throughout the novel, Edna’s inner thoughts are more real and authentic than reality and the socially acceptable life others perceive from the outside. Chopin describes how Edna understood differences between the inner and outer life from the beginning of her existence. The narrator clearly reiterates this idea, maintaining “In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her… At a very early period, she had apprehended instinctively the dual life-that outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions” (Source A, Ch. V). As Edna grew up, she learned to conform to the expectations around her. In addition to portraying Edna’s divide on how she feels as a wife and mother, the narrator also assumes the audience views Edna’s awakening from the view of her society where individualism and humanity is a “ponderous weight” for women like her.
Topic: happiness

The sea represents both freedom and fear of Edna, both pertaining to the idea of achieving humanity and individualism. Edna’s fear of water symbolizes a fear of radical freedom that could have serious consequences and the ability to swim reveals her independence and desire to push boundaries. These two ideas speak to how confined her life is, yet how the freedom she is experiencing is new to her. Facing her fear has led Edna to blindly follow whatever impulse moved her, as if she freed her soul of responsibility. She was no longer held by the social responsibilities that she has, but rather by her growing desires. Happiness coupled with exhaustion from new activities gave her life a new, dream-like aspect because she began to resist the rules and habits she previously followed. In the middle of the novel, Edna defends her case, exclaiming “I would give up the unessential; I would give up my money, I would give up my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (Source A Ch. XVI).
Topic: happiness

Edna considers her newfound “self” and individuality to be essential and she wouldn’t give it up. Her despair comes from a perceived lack of purpose, wondering if her life has any meaning. Before her awakening, she could refer to herself as a wife or mom, but now that her identity is more fluid, she sacrifices a sense of comradery and societal acceptance. Rather than society trying to understand Edna’s position from a personal or women’s rights perspective, they believe her to be silly and unstable. Their preferred course of action is to say that she’s fickle and wait until her behavior goes back to “normal”. Ths disagreeable nature comes from the fact that she is no longer young, and has no other option but to accept society and its standards. Though we all wear a “fictitious self” when we explore the world, Edna’s situation is different in that she actively disregards this self when others wear it unconsciously and use it to create a better means for relationship.
Topic: happiness

Although American culture insists that fulfilment for women could be found in marriage and homemaking, Betty Fridan argues in The Feminine Mystique that women need to maximize their potential through something other than societal standards. When women ignored their potential during the 1950’s and 1960’s, the result was not only limited to a stereotypical society, but also a society full of unhappy women. Fridan emphasizes that the unhappiness of many housewives who are trying to fit into the feminine boundaries of society is widespread. Throughout the excerpt, the creation of a mythical “pretty American suburban housewife” has depleted career ambitions and has only been beneficial for the ones advertising the femine mystique. The feminine mystique has corrupted many media outlets including schools, corporations, and women related products to conclude the idea that in U.S. society women should marry at a young age and fit into the figmented feminine image.
Topic: happiness

In reality, however, it was a rare occurrence for women to be happy because they were expected to base their career off of being a mother and a housewife, limiting all leisure activities. According to Friedan, she defines women’s unhappiness in relation to the dissatisfaction that women experience when they are longing for something more than just their societal duties, “the problem that has no name.” As stated explicitly by Friedan, “If a woman had a problem in the 1950’s or 1960’s, she knew that something must be wrong with her marriage, or herself” (Source C). The role of a woman was to not have any additional interest in careers of higher education or politics, and those who had an interest in something of that nature were to be judged by experts. In addition, if women expressed dissatisfaction with their lives and were tired of pretending that they were happy, there was still “no other road to fulfilment offered to American women in the middle of the twentieth century” (Source C). Friedan’s vision of a truly productive, content society would allow both men and women to have access to higher education for realistic occupation that coincides with their talents.
Topic: happiness

In the Organization Kid by David Brooks, he conveys the idea that students are shaped directly by their parents that affects both their actions and behavior towards learning. Through the influence of parents, kids are manipulated to believe that going to a pristine college guarantees a successful job and a financially stable life. The “Organization Kid” originates from the current generation of students who are characterized as “the future workaholics of America” (Source F). There is a general comparison between the 1980’s and present, highlighting the differences between workload and safety. While both workload and safety precautions are rising, schools are making matters worse by shifting their focus to a more academic curriculum with less options. Through his personal accounts of visiting Princeton, David Brooks focuses on the “typical Princeton student,” (Source F) where he gathers impressions from students through interviews that provide a meaningful analysis of how the rise of social standards relate to a more competitive work environment.
Topic: happiness

As present throughout all the texts, the roles of social norms have played as a barrier throughout history having both a physical and mental toll on specific characters in society. Demonstrating resistance to outcomes of social norms reveals the complexion that many of the standards society implants are too narrow and represent more of a rigid constraint; moreover, the narration in the explored texts allude to the idea that explicit social norms can provide proper guidance for action and involvement. Pragmatic reasons for social norms determine how much resistance to outcomes is justified and provide a more universal principle for general acceptance and concerns.
Topic: happiness

Doing the things, you love and “outside of the box” will give you an extra dose of happiness. Can\’t afford a vacation to relax for a while or to do that “bungee jump” you always fantasized about? No worries, ensure you at least “book out” for even a staycation once in a while and do something different.   Listen to your heart as this is where the soul of your decisions is made. You are the only one that completes you. A lot of times friends and family always say they know what is best for you but if your heart is not into it, forget it!   Be your source of “push” to achieve what you desire and don’t depend on others to do it for you. Every too often we believe someone else might be responsible for our fulfillment, but in reality, you are solely in charge. The moment you come to terms with this, the power and driving force to get you to the top will continue to flow through you.
Topic: happiness

Secondly, health is another area that is so important to happiness. For example, eating healthily and regularly can help keep our mood even. Similarly, it is important to get lots of sleep so to maintain happiness. “A survey by Statistics Canada highlights that a quarter of Canadians over the age of 15 have problems falling asleep and that over 3 million people struggle to get good quality sleep with regular periods of wakefulness.” The research also states that those people struggling with insomnia also show signs of a higher rate of stress hormones compared with those who sleep well, which can lead to depression.
Topic: happiness

Finally, if you don’t feel good about yourself you will have a similarly negative attitude towards others and education is one way of having good self-esteem, as it helps you to live life successfully and happily. Education is one way of getting that dream job and education is an essential cog in the wheel to living comfortably and happily. One English survey that included over 15,000 participants revealed that 81 percent of people who had achieved a good level of education had a high level of life satisfaction.
Topic: happiness

‘A Hunger Artist’ by Franz Kafka b. ‘The Boy who Drew Cats’ (A Japanese folktale) c. ‘The Standard of Living’ by Dorothy Parker), it illustrates that money cannot buy happiness as happiness comes from the satisfaction of our ability to be content with life. Therefore, we should stay persistent and keep moving towards our dreams even though we are in poor environments and living conditions. Achievement and success can bring us happiness and satisfaction than materialistic conditions.
Topic: happiness

Through the two young girls in the story, Annabel and Midge, it demonstrates the lifestyles of materialism. Annabel and Midge were close friends. They worked in the same office in America as a stenographer. Annabel had invented a new game. The game provided them a million dollars and they wanted to buy a string of pearls that costs two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. They tended to do something like what the rich people do. The two girls were obsessed with money.
Topic: happiness

The story of ‘The Boy who Drew Cats’ talked about a boy, who was the son of a poor farmer. His parents decided to send him to the village temple to be trained as a priest. The boy learned quickly and was very obedient in most things except one – drawing cats whenever and wherever he can. The old priest finally sent the boy away with the advice to encourage him to become an artist instead of a priest. The boy, instead of going back home, went to the next village where there was a big temple. He did not know that the temple was closed up due to a goblin-rat appeared there. He saw a large white screen and started to draw cats. Finally, his cats killed the goblin-rat. Afterward, the boy became a famous artist.
Topic: happiness

Although the story of ‘The Boy who Drew Cats’ is a folktale that is fictitious, it illustrates a concept that poor environment and living conditions cannot stop one’s dream. The little boy kept pursuing his dream even under a poor environment. His dream came true. He became a famous artist. Happiness comes from the satisfaction of his ability to become an artist. On the contrary, the two young girls in the story of ‘The Standard of Living’ lived in imagination only and they believe that materialism will bring them happiness. The girls could not achieve what they want if they kept imagining and without putting effort into changing their lives. In the contemporary world, some students, who come from vulnerable families, do not have extra money or resources to learn or to attend the tutorial classes. Despite poor environment and living conditions, they stay persistent and study hard, they finally get good results in the public examination. They endeavor to change their fate. It reflects that accomplishment can bring them happiness and satisfaction than materialistic conditions.
Topic: happiness

Another story ‘A Hunger Artist’ talked about an artist who regards fasting as an art. He sat in a cage from day to night and ate nothing. He aspired to be a great artist with perseverance. He got fame through this marathon fasting exhibition. But he was not happy as his manager restricted his fasting to forty days only. However, people are not as interested as they were in watching the hunger artist in the past. He decided to join a circus and planned to set a fasting record beyond forty days. Although the hunger artist continued to fast, no one showed interest in him and kept track of the days. In the end, the hunger artist died. But he was proud that he never gave up his fast. He kept pursuing his dream. He persisted and struggled for recognition. Different from the story of ‘The Standard of Living’, this story illustrates that an adverse environment cannot stop one’s dream. The hunger artist got satisfaction and wish-fulfillment through the fasting although nobody understands his art.
Topic: happiness

As I mentioned before, happiness is subjective and difficult to measure. Some people believe that a good environment and a good quality of life can bring us happiness. Just like the comments from one of my groupmates, Wong Hing Lung, who mentions that we can perceive happiness from an environment that close to green areas or wildlife. We will feel happier when we are located in natural environments every day. A simple life is happy. Of course, back to nature can bring
Topic: happiness

to people. Healthy people feel happier. But I think happiness comes from, not only the environmental conditions but also life satisfaction in different areas such as work, family, friendship, achievement, and success. In some poor countries, people do not aspire to materialistic satisfaction. They seek the basic necessity and feel happy even in a simple life. Moreover, like the Hunger Artist and the boy who drew cats, despite an adverse environment and living conditions, they can still fulfill their dreams which bring them happiness. On the contrary, the two young girls in the story of ‘The Standard of Living’ are too obsessed with money and materialistic conditions. They will not feel happy if their ambition cannot be achieved.
Topic: happiness

For my class project, I used the data from the 2019 7th World Happiness Report. Each year the report focuses on some themes of well being and happiness. This year the report was on happiness and the community and looked at the link between government actions and happiness, happiness and community, and happiness and technology. Their study focused on six explanatory factors: social support, healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, generosity, freedom to make life choices, and freedom from corruption. I chose this topic as, during the midst of the COVID019 pandemic, mindfulness and wellness have been common themes in the media.
Topic: happiness

In this study, the Cantril Ladder was used to measure overall well-being. The Cantil Ladder is often compared to a 10 rung step ladder that we may have in our tool shed, with the first rung being a score of 1 and the 10th rung rated as a score of 10. Features included in the study: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption.
Topic: happiness

Using the features that I had selected initially, social support, generosity GDP per capita, and healthy life expectancy, I plotted the data for a visual representation of the relationships. Using KNIME for the analysis tool, I found that three of the four features had similar scatter plots so I could not tell which variable was more dominant. I then turned to a linear regression model, a formal supervised machine learning technique. R2 is a statistical measure of fit that indicates how much variation of a dependent variable is explained by the independent variable(s) in a regression model. As shown on the next page, the inclusion of all features in the original study provided the highest R2, meaning that the inclusion of all features was needed in the model to optimize the likelihood of happiness. R2 never reached 1, meaning that some other factor was missing from the model or that despite the inclusion of all the variables, there was no guarantee that people would be happy despite the most optimal conditions.
Topic: happiness

I experimented with the features used in the study to find the “optimal” combination to find happiness. After trial-and-error, I included the six features in the original study plus what the author referred to as the positive effect and the negative effect. Per the authors of the original study, “Positive effect comprises the average frequency of happiness, laughter, and enjoyment on the previous day, and negative affect comprises the average frequency of worry, sadness, and anger on the previous day. The affect measures thus lie between 0 and 1.” The negative effect lowers the overall score by .08 but considered it necessary as we were including the positive effect. The additional features raised the R2 value by .0328. See below.
Topic: happiness

During the pandemic, many people are living in social near-isolation if they are without some tools such as Zoom and Facetime. My initial thought was that the lack of social support would have an adverse impact on a healthy life expectancy. The data below shows that GDP per capita has the greatest influence on a healthy life expectancy. In this case, we have an adjusted R2 of 0.7289 with social support, generosity, and GDP per capita factored into the equation.
Topic: happiness

I chose to use cluster analysis for unsupervised machine learning. For my first question, what features most influence happiness, I would include in my analysis three of the four features I identified in my initial list of features: social support, healthy life expectancy, and GDP per capita. I would cluster common happiness indicator scores and look to see what scores assigned to the features and look for commonalities. For clusters with a similar happiness score, what range of scores are associated closely with each of the features?
Topic: happiness

In Kant’s ‘Metaphysics of Morals’, his view of morals is that our desires and emotions are categorically imperative; they are conscience-driven. Kant’s ethical view regarding happiness is, “You have a duty to pursue your happiness through the use of reason, as long as you’re not lying, breaking your promises, or committing suicide.” He pities happiness against morality. In Kant’s view, happiness is something that belongs to the world of experience. It is based on perceptual experience and obeys the rule of the kingdom of nature. Although happiness is what everyone wants to have, if only happiness without corresponding morality, it’s not real happiness.
Topic: happiness

Kant and Aristotle hold practically equal definitions of happiness; both require fortune, reason and neither is universal. Kant offers a more universally accessible route to morality; whose end is the happiness of others. He makes it very clear that “making a human happy is something entirely different from making a person “good”. From Kant’s point of view, some conditions and qualities of a “happy person” are not combined with any moral bases. A person must be worthy to be happy.
Topic: happiness

It is difficult to imagine our today’s life without money. We need it to buy living essentials, such as clothes and food products. And we also can’t imagine our life without happiness. Happiness is a complicated concept which depends on things that surround the person. These things can be both material and spiritual. And the theme of money and happiness is always relevant in our time. And most likely everyone at least once in their life asked the question “can I buy happiness?”.
Topic: happiness

For example, new clothes often make us more confident. With the help of money acquired self-confidence can help you get the job you want, make a profitable deal, or just add a bit of personal freedom. A few more examples that bring happiness at the expense of money. For the money, you can buy fresh impressions and equipment for your favorite hobby. Thanks to this, a person develops creatively and achieves balance. Money brings to us more confidence, for those who value stability, having money in a bank account helps us gain confidence in the future because we can cover unforeseen expenses, such as car repairs or emergency medical care for a family member. Another example how purchasing some things bring happiness. Buying materialistic things is an instant feeling of happiness. Money nourishes happiness by helping a person to achieve the values that happiness is made of. Shopping for luxury items can bring extra happiness, and your quality of life and level of happiness may fluctuate slightly from the realization that you can do it (Money, 2016). Agree, this is a magical feeling-the realization that you can afford what you want.
Topic: happiness

Another argument supporting the side that money can buy happiness is that money can buy our experience which helps to develop the qualities of a smart and interesting person. I want to explain a little, what I mean by experience. I mean buying knowledge, whether it’s a book, a training course, a seminar, or an individual travel guide, significantly improves the quality of our life. If we are equipped with the knowledge, we make better decisions, thereby reducing stress and enjoying a fuller life. With the help of money, we can develop intellectually by buying the necessary books and getting an education in the best universities (Kozhar, 2019). We can travel, visit any place on the planet, be inspired and develop as we wish. With money, we can hire a yoga coach, for example. Thus, we will better understand all the techniques of this type of physical activity, improve our body, and learn some useful tips from the trainer. Or hire a fitness trainer and tighten all your muscles in tone, develop your body muscles, and always be active and dynamic.
Topic: happiness

This contributes to your own health will pay off very well, because you not only get your body in order but also improve your health, which will be very useful to you in the future. Also, with the help of money, we can improve our knowledge by learning languages. In order to learn a language very well, we will need a good teacher, who also costs money. But if we think about it, the money we have invested in our own growth will not be a waste. Knowing the language well, we can easily communicate with people who know this language, it will always be a plus for us, even in work, in just developing our brain. And when we really understand that thanks to the money we spend and the language we learn, we can ensure a happy life for ourselves, it is really good.
Topic: happiness

Another argument that is on the opposite side, that money can buy happiness, it is about that people cannot buy real love, or friends, or even some feelings. Money can help us gain power, but it can’t buy for us real friendship and love. Money can certainly attract people who want to communicate with you. However, it is not a fact that they will become real friends. True friends are those who stay close to us in both good and bad periods of life. They don’t care what things we have or how much money we have. They care what kind of person we are. We can enjoy the company of friends for free anywhere in nature if we really love each other, we will be happy anywhere. People who can be attracted to us by money alone may even call themselves our friends. Their only goal is to take advantage of us, to become stronger and more secure at your expense. We know, these people can’t be called friends.
Topic: happiness

What about real love, can we buy it? Love is an incredible feeling that can only be achieved through a deep and close bond between two people, forged out of trust, openness, unanimity, and empathy (Cluber, 2019). And we can’t buy that with all the money in the world. A person is built in such a way that it is impossible to make him feel specific feelings for another for any material values. Many may answer that love is measured in beautiful homes, designer items, and sports cars. But is it? In fact, it is just providing for the needs of a person, but it is not loved at all. We can buy a person’s attention, but we can’t hold it. Also, for example, parental love – it is completely unselfish and pure. A child can give nothing to his parents in the first couple of years of his life, but they give him a lot (Vlasenko, 2019). They take care of him, feed him, teach him to stand up and take the first steps, teach him basic things, give him the first ideas about life, and so on. Money can’t buy it. And parents do not demand anything in return, because love is unselfish. They are ready to do everything to make the child happy and healthy. Thus, we can sum up that the most important relationships in life do not occur on a material basis. Love can’t be bought with money.
Topic: happiness

In conclusion, having considered two opposite opinions on this topic, we can draw some conclusions. It is very difficult to say for sure whether you can buy happiness or not. This is a very philosophical topic and you can talk for a long time, discuss the pros and cons of money, but in the end, everyone comes to their own opinion of what is right and what is not. But for me personally, there are advantages to money, and money can bring happiness, maybe not always and not with everyone, but still, there are more advantages than disadvantages.
Topic: happiness

Happiness is a state of being that everyone wants to achieve. It is characterized by feelings of enjoyment, satisfaction, and pleasure. Each person has their own definition of happiness. For instance, some people think that happiness comes from wealth and materialistic things, other people think it comes from the simple things in daily life like the sunrise and the sound of birds. So, it depends on each person and it has various causes. But, in this essay, I intend to talk about the three main causes of happiness.
Topic: happiness

For instance, if anyone feels down, they would indulge in eating a huge amount of unhealthy food. In their unconscious mind, they are releasing the feeling of depression in eating a lot. Which is completely wrong. We have to be aware of what we fuel our bodies with. Unhealthy food could make us even more depressed. Unlike healthy food which boosts our happiness. So, we have to fuel our bodies with good food in order to be happy.
Topic: happiness

People do not realize how powerful a mindset is. Your mindset basically rules your entire life. Scientists say If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, make sure you keep your brain happy. Why? Because being happy matters more to your brain than you might think. In fact, feeling pleasure can be so stimulating for your brain that it is capable to respond to pleasure in a way that reinforces pleasure. In other words, Positive and optimistic thinking supports brain growth. Therefore, makes you happier.
Topic: happiness

In conclusion, happiness can most certainly be found at any source. It is not only found in momentary pleasure but genuine, long-lasting happiness, which is not something that comes to a person randomly. In fact, most people have to work very hard for a very long time to finally find happiness, to create the best possible version of it. Moreover, it is something that any person can build on their own. It is not unattainable. Happiness can happen to anyone, mostly because everyone deserves to be happy.
Topic: happiness

In western society what is our perspective on happiness? Customarily our aims to achieve happiness are focused on money, success and material possessions. I am sure you have thought, at one time, “If only I had money, perhaps, won the lottery. I could then buy a better house, faster car and more glamorous clothes”. Britain is richer than ever at present, however, we do not seem to be any happier. Is this possibly because there is no link between complete happiness and money? Some people may believe material possession bring us happiness through a feeling of being accepted.
Topic: happiness

The participants reported that they felt joy, knowing they were helping others, by giving away luxury items that they realised they did not necessarily need, such as their dishwasher and their second car. However, after a period of time, some families reintroduced certain items, not because they were unhappy without them, but because for their lifestyle it was easier to have them. Their happiness level was not affected at all by not having these items; they still laughed at the same things and enjoyed life in the same way.
Topic: happiness

The only difference was that things were a little more difficult for them. So can we conclude from this that material possessions can only make our lives easier rather than happier? We all have the ability to be happy, regardless of external events or achievements. This is evident when patrons who visit new developing countries, such as Ethiopia, repeatedly report that the children with little or no life chances are expressing happiness in poverty and disease ridden conditions. So does happiness have to be linked to a certain thing or is it just the way we think?
Topic: happiness

In the international best seller The Art of Happiness by HH Dalia Lama & Howard C. Cutter, the Dalia Lama states that “we don’t need more money, we don’t need greater success or fame, we don’t even need the perfect body or partner – right now, at this very moment, we have a mind which is all the basic equipment we need to achieve complete happiness. ” By this he is referring to our mental state as being the prime factor in achieving happiness. Of course that does not deny that our basic physical needs for food, clothing and shelter must be met.
Topic: happiness

However, if we change our perspective on happiness the difference could be prodigious. The next time we go to the supermarket and feel overwhelmed with the desire to buy the latest contemporary items, or when we feel the urge to upgrade our car for a flashier one, or even a third slice of gateau, we should ask ourselves? “Do I really need this, and will it bring me happiness. ” This prevailing question will enable us to shift the focus from what we are denying ourselves to what we are seeking which is happiness.
Topic: happiness

Approaching our daily decisions and choices with this perspective allows us to make the right decision because we are acting to gain ourselves happiness rather than withholding something from ourselves. Adopting this perspective also eliminates the pangs of jealousy we receive when someone has more than we do. I have a friend that has a large detached house, two fancy cars and is financially stable. At times I would find myself feeling hard done by, as situations in my life obstructed me from achieving what she has.
Topic: happiness

I often thought it was unfair, and this would leave me with feelings of unhappiness. By introducing the approach “do I really need it and would it make me happy? ” I have eliminated those unnecessary feelings of unhappiness, as it is not important to me anymore to have such items. Ironically, some in society perceive having the latest technical gadget, coolest designer clothes and fastest car as having achieved happiness. However, for those who can’t afford such items they only add to their money problems, which is a major contributory factor to stress and unhappiness.
Topic: happiness

Personally I do not believe that material things and money can make you happy. In some cases as previously mentioned certain things can make your life easier but do not change our level of happiness. Focusing on what I do have, rather than what I don’t have, and on, what I do need, rather than what I want or would like, has made me realise that, right now, I am happy. I have a wonderful husband have been blessed with a beautiful daughter, a roof over my head and food in my cupboard. The fundamental things in life will do me.
Topic: happiness

In other words, in order for the human beings to experience its telos or ultimate end, which is eudaimonia, human beings need first to analyze what makes him a human being. In order to understand it well, Aristotle discusses the three kinds of souls, the vegetative soul, the sensitive soul, and the rational soul. The Vegetative souls are souls which are capable of nutrition and growth, and it is applicable to plants. The Sensitive souls are souls which are capable of not just nutrition and growth, but also the use of senses, and it can be seen to animals.
Topic: happiness

Lastly, the rational souls are souls which are capable of not just nutrition and growth, not just senses, but also rationality, from which human beings are capable of. In other words, human beings capability to rationalize makes him different to the rest of the creatures. Next, human beings need to know his function, and that function is very much related to his nature, and that is human beings capacity to rationalize, therefore human beings function is to think and will, to rationalize.
Topic: happiness

Lastly, in order for human beings to experience that eudaimonia, as Aristotle would tell us, human beings need to actualize his function, and that actualization for human beings as a rational beings is to rationalize, to contemplate to the ideas, and when he already actualizes, human beings will experience his ultimate end, eudaimonia. The concept of eudaimonia, or happiness is very different to the concept of happiness for us Catholics. Read what to do f you find a path with no obstacles
Topic: happiness

For us, “true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement- however beneficial it may be, such as science, technology and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love. ” In other words, for us Catholics, happiness is very much connected to our faith, many became martyrs because they embrace the cross, and they experience happiness to their crosses, they deny everything for God.
Topic: happiness

They believed that true happiness can experience after they have been share to the sufferings of Christ, and only God can give them this happiness. For some, happiness is just an event that can be happen everywhere, and can experience in different ways. One example are those who are hungry, happiness for them can experience when they were already eaten something, and be satisfied. For the inmates, or those who are in prison, for them, happiness can be experience when they were already free physically.
Topic: happiness

For those who are having problems and difficulties in life, happiness for them is when they were already overcome those trials. However, for some, happiness is something that can gives us pleasure, happiness can be found at parties, like drinking sessions, eating many delicious foods, sexual activities, etc. Happiness for these people is just temporal, believing that no one can give them happiness except by themselves. As far as I know, we have different concepts of happiness, and this concept of happiness is depending on how we truly know ourselves, to our very own status quo.
Topic: happiness

But what important most is when we experience happiness in a very unique way, that we believe that happiness really exist, and it just in front of us. One important issue that needs a solution is when people do not believe that they can experience happiness, when people are no longer aspiring to become happy. They become much more hopeless. Here, I want to discuss something very unique, unique that after I read the book, I immediately asked myself if I am really experiencing happiness, that after reading that book, it makes me smile.
Topic: happiness

I quoted Okakura Kakuzo who said that “Perfection is everywhere if we only choose to recognize it”. There is only one way to achieve lasting happiness. That way is simply: Be happy. It is very important to understand the meaning of being a happy person. Also, it is very important to know that we cannot be happy on our own, we must remember that “no man is an island”, no one can achieved something without needing the company of others. In other words, there is always someone or something that will guide us and accompany us throughout our journey.
Topic: happiness

Most of the time, the very reason of our happy disposition is because we believed that when we welcome the new day, we know that we are still alive and we have our love ones to journey with us. But we need to put in our mind and to understand that to be happy is something that will gives us a big responsibility, to be happy is not just to be happy, because there is always a reason why we are happy. It is stated that; The path that has led your current condition was not a few days or months in the making, but a long and arduous path that has spanned many years. Actually it has taken you as long as you’ve been alive to become the way you are.
Topic: happiness

It has also taken you that long to achieve what you’ve achieved, to possess what you now possess, and to arrive at your current condition. Your life today is the result of a series of decisions you made that have caused you to arrive where you are. In other words, what I am now, what we are now, is because of the many things, many experiences that we have, and of the different decisions that we made. I am here because I brought myself to this situation. I am seminarian because of something; I’m here not because of a supernatural experience or because of an apparition.
Topic: happiness

I am a seminarian because I brought myself inside the seminary, I take and passed different kind of examinations and interviews, and because of the attraction that I have to the priesthood, and to the belief that I can experience happiness when I enter the seminary, believing that there is something spiritual that will occur in my life while staying in the formation, that I will find truth about myself. I imagine a seminarian who has on a deep meditation, and while on praying, an angel of the Lord appeared, and told him about his future.
Topic: happiness

He told him that he will become a priest and he will be a good priest in the future, that he will help many people and became the inspiration and a good example to others. But, in his journey to the priesthood, he will encounter many trials and difficulties, even sacrificed everything, at the certain point that he does not believed at all that God love him. If you are in the situation of that seminarian, what will be your reaction? How do you feel about that wonderful news? Are you happy? Wouldn’t it be one of the greatest news you will ever hear?
Topic: happiness

If your answer is “yes”, perhaps, it’s because you’re already know what will happen to your future, and what you need to do is to wait for it, or perhaps, it is possible that what the angel informed you is really what you want in the future. And if your answer is “no”, maybe it’s because your current condition is not suitable to the news of the angel, and you cannot imagine yourself as a priest, or perhaps you really do not want to become a priest and what you want is to be married, and you don’t want to suffer many things as the angel told you.
Topic: happiness

Or it can be because there is no more surprised, because of the angle had already told you everything. What I want to say is that, we cannot automatically had what we want instantly, we need to experience many things before we experience what we really want, the situation before going to the priesthood can be terrible, and really bad, but we can salvage some good out of it. That even in the worst event on our lives we can found a tiny bit good. In the book Zen and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss, Alan Watts defined “Zen” as simply, that state of centeredness which is here and now.
Topic: happiness

Zen is a Japanese word that is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “meditation” (dhyana in Sanskrit, ch’an in Chinese, and zen in Japanese). Zen is a journey of exploration and a way of living that, in and of itself, does not belong to any one religion or tradition. It is about experiencing life in the here and now and about removing the dualistic distinctions between “I” and “you,” between “subject” and “object,” between our spiritual and our ordinary, everyday activities.
Topic: happiness

It is about seeing into, directly experiencing, and expressing one’s true nature. In other words, Zen is a method of finding oneself; it is a method which enables us to wake up and became aware of everything. Here is the heart of it: “The Zen of doing anything is doing it with a particular concentration of mind, calmness and simplicity of mind that brings the experience of enlightenment and, through that experience, happiness. I remember a professor who asked us a question if we already experience to be enlightened, many of us do not understand what he is asking about, and what we only know is what we studied during our Indian and
Topic: happiness

That kind of happiness endures and does not decrease with the changing conditions of time. It sees us through every difficulty, every loss, every hardship, and it brightens even our best days. Do you believe in the saying that “we are the authors of every next moment? ” meaning, we are the reason who we are now, that “everything that happens to me, is the best possible thing that happened” as the Dhammpada states “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts. In our daily life, we have principles that became the foundation of our daily life decisions, we believed to something that became who we are. We have the control of our life, and everything that is happening and will happen to us is because of our philosophy, our principle. As stated in the book, “We are the powerful beings, creating our futures with our thoughts and actions. We are the mechanism by which life is controlled, and by our personal philosophy, which determines how we respond to those events”.
Topic: happiness

When he was already there, and already step forward to the place, he experience many paranormal activities, but in the end, everything is just an imagination, it is only on his mind, before he really enter the Dungeon, he already foreseen those paranormal activities, in the end, he really didn’t go and enter the Dungeon. It is like the story of our life, we have the thoughts on our mind that changes us, and before deciding something, we already foreseen on our mind the possible things that can happen, our thoughts beforehand including our feelings became the reason of the many failures that we experience and the cause of our weakness.
Topic: happiness

On our life, we cannot welcome happiness if our thoughts are very negative and full of worries of bad things that can be happen. We cannot welcome happiness if we already foreseen that something wrong will happen. We are the ones who invest seemingly bad happenings with the power to seem bad at the time they occur and to continue to seem bad afterward. As William Shakespeare wisely observed, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. ” But when we try to believe to what is good and to what is positive, when we start to believe to what is best for us, even in our trials and difficulties, this will makes us happy.
Topic: happiness

As famous Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu states, “The true man sees what the eyes sees, and does not add to it something that is not there. He hears what the ears hear, and does not detect imaginary undertones or overtones. He is not busy with hidden meanings. ” In other words, we must be true with ourselves, we must be more honest to what is happening to us, we must accept who we are, we must open ourselves to the many opportunity and possibilities that the life can give, and that will makes us happy. It is also important to remember that there are times that we will experience something which we annot bear, things that is very unacceptable and can lead us to sadness, but we must have the belief that, that experience can later be turned into something beneficial, that event can be one of the best thing that could happened. And when we start to be happy and learn to accept those things which for us are unacceptable, that will lead us to happiness. In our journey we will experience different trials, no one can bear to have difficult trials, and no one wants to have problems. But how if that trials and difficulties are the reason why we are strong and those things will lead us to something very important?
Topic: happiness

How if those things that happened on our lives can lead us to our goal, which is happiness? “Everything that happens to me is the best possible thing that can happen to me. ” And when we are convinced of the truth that everything that happens is the best thing that can happen, life begins to be much more fun. It is like opening a direct changed to happiness. In other words, Happiness is just waiting, we only need to do what is most necessary, however, it is not just happiness but also the opposite of it, unhappiness is also waiting, and it is depend to us whether we will welcome it or not.
Topic: happiness

But still, we must believe that everything that happened is the best possible thing that can be happen, because “everything comes at the appointed time. ” We just need to wait, and when the appointed time came, we must welcome it and believe that what will happen, will lead us to happiness. One exercise to welcome happiness is to smile. Thich Nhat Hanh states, “If you really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Smiling helps you approach the day with gentleness and understanding.
Topic: happiness

Smile with your whole being. ” In other words, no one wants to encounter someone who is angry early in the morning, no one wants to be sad when the new day starts; no one wants to see someone crying. We need to teach ourselves to smile and smile even though the most difficult part in creating new results in our life is maintaining our awareness that whatever happens to us is for our greatest benefit. Happiness comes from within. It is a state that is produced by our minds.
Topic: happiness

In other words, what makes us happy is not the external objects, or experiences that we have, but the way we feel about those objects or circumstances, what our minds think about them, is the cause of our happiness. Neither happiness nor unhappiness is contained in the event itself. Let me give you an example. When Many Pacquiao and Marquez have their fight in boxing, many Filipinos wants to win Pacman, while the Mexicans wants to win Marquez. When the fight is over and announces that Pacman won the fight, those who are in favor of Pacman became happy, and those who support Marquez feel unhappy.