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Happiness in the World
Thinking about happiness
A lot has occurred to me
One, is the person being real
The other is the good it lived
Some say it's fortune
Others, beauty and youth
Some say it's mutual love
Some say it is health.
All of them together, still do not guarantee it
For the joy in the world lasts only an instant
To be happy in life, besides offering shelter
It is to have your conscience at peace, becoming happy.
According to the dictionary, happiness means: a real feeling of full satisfaction; state of contentment, satisfaction.
Among these sensations and state, the expectations are different for each one. There are those who wish to have beauty forever, looking for a thousand ways to not show their age; for others, in addition to beauty, they have to be financially successful, thus being able to fulfill all their wants and desires; and in addition to beauty and the vile metal, there is the affective structure, being in a relationship that involves mutual love; and the most important for the vast majority: physical, emotional and spiritual health.
Do you agree that this is not our case? We are already spiritualized enough not to be deceived by these expectations; ours are different, like developing love for God and neighbor.
But if all the mentioned expectations come together and they are achieved, how can we not guarantee happiness? Let us ask: Why do we want an aesthetic beauty? Have wealth? Why have corresponding affective relationships? Why have health all your life? To answer these questions, I indicate a single word: Attachment. And I will justify: we are very attached to the form, leaving aside the base.
Striving for aesthetic beauty is more about attracting the eyes of others than feeling beautiful as we are, without having to fit any pattern. It is the attachment to vanity.
Fortune can give us all kinds of sensations, the possession of what we want, in addition to all the comforts and whims attended to: travel and entertainment. Properties such as automobiles, real estate, clothing, jewelry, are the attachment to luxury.
Reciprocal affective relationships, even with the distorted understanding of love, we are unable to love freely due to the lack of being esteemed, wanted and loved. It is the attachment to selfishness.
To always be healthy, 100% in all senses, in this physical vehicle in which we move momentarily, this is a universe that needs to be in balance with the expiration date and the fuel supplied for an existence, and when the indicative "pain" warns that something is not right and anguish calls attention to the conscience, we understand that it is not possible in the world in which we live to be healthy in all areas. It is the attachment to earthly life that involves affectivity, people we love, and to the other states and sensations we experience in matter.
To reflect on Happiness and relative Unhappiness we turn to The Book of Spirits, in question 921:
It is conceived that man will be happy on Earth, when Humanity is transformed. But in the meantime, can you achieve relative happiness?
“Man is almost always the worker of his own unhappiness. Practicing the law of God, he will cover himself with many evils and will provide himself with happiness as great as his gross existence bears.”
The great limited happiness that we can experience will be according only to the fulfillment of divine laws.
After the answer of the Superior Spirits, Kardec, in his commentary, analyzes the earthly existence as a temporary station in a precarious inn, man is not contaminated with annoyances, as they are transitory and, since he avoids them, he knows that he will reach a good position. On Earth there are happy moments in all areas, and the more we progress morally the more we will achieve true well-being, but not complete happiness, as question 920 of The Book of Spirits clarifies:
Can man enjoy complete happiness on Earth?
- No, because life was given to him as a test or atonement, but it depends on him to mitigate his evils and be as happy as he can be on Earth.
We can cause happy moments even with our coarse existence and experiencing trials and atonements, without necessarily needing major events. There is a study that I extracted from the BBC Brazil website saying that, in the last decades, endocrinologists, neuroscientists and other researchers, study happiness as a biological process. They want to find what triggers that feeling from a physical point of view, to understand what happens in the body when joy actually sparks, and how to conquer that feeling. In this sense, there are four natural chemicals in our bodies defined as the "happiness quartet": endorphin, serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin.
Endorphin is a substance that the brain produces and generates happiness and motivation, it naturally activates the best sensations of mood, adrenaline and disposition in the body, and we release the endorphin in the body through physical exercises, socialization, positive thoughts and balanced and natural food.
Serotonin flows when you feel important, the feeling of loneliness and even depression are chemical responses to your absence. Alex Korb, a neuroscientist, says that the simplest strategies to raise the level of serotonin are: remembering happy moments, sunbathing, receiving massages and practicing aerobic exercises, such as running and cycling.
Dopamine: John Salamone, professor of psychology at the University of Connecticut (USA), says: "Low levels of dopamine make people and other animals less likely to work for a purpose". The best way to raise dopamine, therefore, is to set short-term goals or split long-term goals into faster goals and celebrate when you reach them.
Oxytocin, because it is related to the development of maternal behaviors and addictions, according to a study by the Indian gynecologist and obstetrician, Navneet Magon, "social connection is essential for the survival of the species (humans and some animals), since it favors reproduction, protection from predators and environmental changes, as well as promoting brain development”. Hugging is a simple way to achieve an increase in oxytocin. Giving or receiving a gift is another example.
These are simple, easy and possible activities to add, or, who is already practicing, keep the good work!
Have we ever stopped to think about what pain and suffering have already been able to transform people for good? And that even in the worst storm you can create something in an extraordinary way? Remember the great artists: without pain, suffering and loneliness, we would have no art. Here are a few:
Edvard Munch (1863-1944)
The renowned Norwegian painter, Munch suffered from depression and agoraphobia, also had nervous breakdowns and suffered from hallucinations. Supposedly, these delusions would have inspired the painter to produce his masterpiece: “The Scream”, in 1893;
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
One of the most legendary composers in history, Beethoven suffered from depression and bipolar disorder. Scholars say that this condition worsened considerably after the age of 26, when he developed deafness;
Machado de Assis (1839-1908)
One of the greatest writers in the Portuguese language, Machado de Assis was constantly plagued by sadness and melancholy. Depression increased with the death of his wife in 1904.
There are notable poets who pour out their existential conflicts through the paint that expresses the role of their pain, with which we identify ourselves...
Art is the best way to sublimate a pain and produce a cure for yourself and for the other. It is in the individual and in the social that we understand the human condition; suffering is normal, sadness and frustration are normal, but they pass. It is necessary to let the phases pass. Do not resist to problems; it is to face them and transform them, to put into action our resources, which are: good cheer, faith, courage and resignation.
Let us create and transform our inside and outside too. The art that is available to everyone, everyone can make, not only painters, writers, musicians and poets. It is the art of helping. Helping family, friends, the community, whoever. Help yourself and know how to ask for help when you need it.
Jesus comes to touch intelligence and sentiment in the Sermon on the Mount at Mt 7: 9: “And who among you is the man who, if a son of yours asks you for bread, you will give him a stone? And asking you for fish, will you give him a snake? If you then, being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in Heaven, give good things to those who ask him for it”.
But we must not ask to be happy, but for discernment in the face of adversity. It is to choose to be happy now, with all the reasons, and without needing them. Because it is a state, it is not for us to expect it; it is for us to be, and for that it is worth the effort, the will and the courage.
Happiness is usually related to unfulfilled desires, the human being would be unable to express what would really make him happy, he could name several factors that could satisfy him, but in fact it would be temporal, he would soon want something else or be in another situation. Being happy is a state of mind, so it is when we are connected to God. How to connect to God? How to be happy? Let's look at some questions and answer them one by one with a yes or no:
Am I at peace with my conscience?
Do I do good to everyone?
Am I renewing myself?
Am I satisfied with what is necessary?
Do I love myself the way I am?
Do I love without expecting to be loved?
Do I take care of myself?
Am I grateful?
Do I believe in life in the future?
Do I know how to forgive?
If the answers to all the questions are yes, then yes, it is possible to be relatively happy on Earth. I end our reflection with the phrase by Emmanuel, a psychographics by Chico Xavier: “Real Happiness is a house that is built inside one's own soul”.
References:
Kardec, Allan. The Book of Spirits. Translation by Salvador Gentile. 175th edition. Macaws. Sao Paulo. IDE Publisher. 2007.
BRAZIL. BBC. The hormones of happiness: how to trigger effects of endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin, available at: BBC Portuguese, accessed on: October 17, 2019.
Kardec, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism. Translation by Matheus Rodrigues de Camargo. 1st edition. 40th reprint. Capivari. Sao Paulo. Publisher EME. 2000. Chap. V, Item 20.
BRAZIL. 9 Depressive geniuses, available in: balance in life accessed on: 17 October 17, 2019.
EMMANUEL (Spirit), Book of Answers, a psychographics by Francisco Candido Xavier. Editora Ceu. Digital version © 2013 - |
