The Hapiness Project

Francisco Bahamonde
Professor N. Tong
Eng 111/ ENF 3
June 03, 2014
THE HAPINESS PROJECT

The purpose of life is to be happy; even from the moment of birth; every human being wants happiness and does not want suffering. Neither social conditioning nor education nor ideology affects this. Nowadays, technology had replaced some ways of expressing feeling; handwriting love letters for example are part of history.
Social networking says that happiness is contagious and powerful. It can spread from person to person and whether niches of happiness form within social networks. However, according to studies it shows that Facebook may help people feel connected but it does not make them happier. A person's happiness is related to the happiness of their friends, their friends' friends, and their friends' friends' friends—that is, to people well beyond their social horizon. Happy people tend to be located in the center of their social networks and to be located in large clusters of other happy people. Happiness, in short, is not merely a function of personal experience, but also is a property of groups. You can find comments like: “Today I am happy because is Friday”, or “Happiness is being together”, all these kind of comments are just sporadic, because happiness depends of many factors and should last for a long period of time. If an emotional change in one person spreads and causes a change in many, then we may be dramatically underestimating the effectiveness of efforts to improve mental and physical health. We should be doing everything we can to measure the effects of social networks and to learn how to magnify them so that we can create an epidemic of well-being. Although, this could be a beneficial approach happiness does not belong to a group; instead, it is an individual objective with its own design that fits each individual. Eastern philosophies have advocated it for more than millennia. Thousands of books have been written, many articles have been published. Popular news talk about happiness every day; for instance, happiness implies faith, family and meaningful work, according to the article “A formula for Happiness” by Arthur C. Brooks. When you believe in something superior, when you have love ones who care about you and when you are happy in your workplace; then you can say that you have reach “Happiness”. People’s happiness depends on your state of mind and attitude. It has something to do with our inner self and the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities. It has something to do with our inner self and the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities.
There are many points of view about happiness and all depends on where stage of life you are in. Like my father, for example, he believes that happiness is to have a good marriage and kids that love you. Even thinking that parents have a lot on their plates—changing diapers, getting their kids into the right schools, keeping their vaccinations up to date—and rarely have time to just relax and enjoy themselves, he says that accomplishing all those tasks make him happy. Some of his statements and advices about happiness are: to have a happy smile on your face no matter what, find the true joy that comes from seeing God in the tiniest things and the smallest experiences; parents who teach their children discipline give these kids a better chance of being happy in all aspects of their lives, from academics to relationships. Hi ended up telling me that we need to help our children accept sadness and to see it as an unavoidable time of life that can also be good, that deepens character, that prepares us for greater suffering and that makes us a help to others.
The ability to be happy is in everyone’s nature. Happiness is found through love, affection, closeness and compassion. Not only do humans have the capability of being happy, but also the Dalai Lama believes that each human naturally has a gentle quality within them. The Dalai Lama supports this theory by mentioning ‘Buddha nature’, the Buddhist doctrine, but also saying that gentleness is not only affected by religion but in everyday life. With gentleness comes aggression, however. People argue that aggression is the dominant behavior for the human race. In response, the Dalai Lama says, “anger, violence and aggression may certainly arise, but I think it’s on a secondary or more superficial level; in a sense, they arise when we are frustrated in our efforts to achieve love and affection” (p.54–55 “The Art of Happiness”). Although aggression can occur, overall our fundamental nature is gentleness. The Dalai Lama believes that because of the advancement in human intelligence we are believed to be capable of controlling our aggression versus our kindness. Overall, happiness is reached by keeping peace with others and one’s self, which can be reached through meditation and community service. Therefore, the Dalai Lama concludes that the purpose isn’t to create tension but a positive atmosphere. This gives our life meaning, which leads to overall happiness. That positive atmosphere can be found through closeness and compassion.
As I feel the real happiness has nothing to do with something outside. It has something to do with our inner self and the key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities.