August 6, 2013
Happiness for many, seems to be an elusive thing. Del Lowery in his podcast "Retirement Talk" refers back to the teachings of Spinoza;
"Well, when it came to happiness, Spinoza claimed that we all desire it, but don’t really know what it is and thus find it difficult to attain. He claimed that every time we pursue something and think it will bring us happiness we are disappointed once we achieve it. Once we get to our goal and receive the applause, the money, the big house, or the large screen TV, we find ourselves discontent in short order. The happiness we thought would be ours is not. We feel let down, disappointed: “Now what”?
Our problem lies in defining, or thinking of happiness, as a solid state; or as a position or place. It isn’t. Spinoza claimed that happiness really is a transitory state. It isn’t in having a better garden than we now have, but it is in the act of creating, or moving towards, having a better garden. Happiness lies in making the transition; moving towards a greater state of perfection."
I will never be the world's greatest sailor, but happiness can be found in the joy of sailing just a bit better each day.
Great post, good to see that you have your goals for retirement, it shows how professional you are. Thank you for sharing this post with us
ReplyDelete