Abhijit Naskar's Blog - Posts Tagged "luxurious-living"
What is Happiness | High Voltage Habib
What is Happiness?
Happiness is a myth. It doesn’t exist.
What we call happiness is merely a temporary sensation of excitement that we receive upon the fulfillment of our expectations.
It’s not happiness, it’s addiction.
And since we have made a society out of this insane pursuit of addiction, our brain is never at a healthy state to actually fathom and more importantly produce true happiness.
And what is true happiness?
Contentment.
You’ve been working for hours. You haven’t had the time to even have some water. Finally you finish your work and drink a glass of water. The sheer feeling of joy that you receive at that moment – that’s happiness, that’s contentment.
You haven’t been near your loved ones for days, for you’ve been away for work. Finally you get home and take them in your arms – that’s happiness, that’s contentment.
Now let me tell you what is not happiness, what is in fact an unhealthy addiction which only ruins a person’s life both mentally and physically.
You’ve been using the same smartphone for over a year now. Suddenly the brand announces the release of a new model. And you get all hyped up to buy that model, despite the fact that you don’t really need it. That’s addiction – that’s an illness.
You visit a new place on vacation. But instead of experiencing that place with your heart, you bring your phone out and waste the entire vacation on taking pictures to post on social media.
That’s addiction, that’s illness. You know why? Because when you get home, you realize, you have plenty of pictures of the vacation on your phone alright, but you have no meaningful memory of that place in your heart.
In usual circumstances, our brain doesn’t distinguish between addiction and true joy. It can only do that, when we stop running and start living. Because at the end of the day, joy is not about fulfilling expectations, joy is about learning to live beyond expectations.
Happiness is a myth. It doesn’t exist.
What we call happiness is merely a temporary sensation of excitement that we receive upon the fulfillment of our expectations.
It’s not happiness, it’s addiction.
And since we have made a society out of this insane pursuit of addiction, our brain is never at a healthy state to actually fathom and more importantly produce true happiness.
And what is true happiness?
Contentment.
You’ve been working for hours. You haven’t had the time to even have some water. Finally you finish your work and drink a glass of water. The sheer feeling of joy that you receive at that moment – that’s happiness, that’s contentment.
You haven’t been near your loved ones for days, for you’ve been away for work. Finally you get home and take them in your arms – that’s happiness, that’s contentment.
Now let me tell you what is not happiness, what is in fact an unhealthy addiction which only ruins a person’s life both mentally and physically.
You’ve been using the same smartphone for over a year now. Suddenly the brand announces the release of a new model. And you get all hyped up to buy that model, despite the fact that you don’t really need it. That’s addiction – that’s an illness.
You visit a new place on vacation. But instead of experiencing that place with your heart, you bring your phone out and waste the entire vacation on taking pictures to post on social media.
That’s addiction, that’s illness. You know why? Because when you get home, you realize, you have plenty of pictures of the vacation on your phone alright, but you have no meaningful memory of that place in your heart.
In usual circumstances, our brain doesn’t distinguish between addiction and true joy. It can only do that, when we stop running and start living. Because at the end of the day, joy is not about fulfilling expectations, joy is about learning to live beyond expectations.
Reject less, repair more | The Peace Testament
With superior sentience, come superior screw-ups. And this holds particularly true for industrialization. Even if we put aside carbon emission, in the year 2020 alone humankind has produced over 2 billion tonnes of trash, which is expected to rise over 70% by the year 2050.
Thus, in the name of progress we the gadget-mad gargoyles keep acting as the true eco-terrorists of the glorious dumping ground, called the planet earth. 2% of all our waste is e-waste. And the alarming bit here is that, that 2% e-waste comprises over 70% of our overall toxic waste.
So, what can you do, you ask? Simple – reject less, repair more. Try to make things last as long as possible, or pass them on to those who have need for them. Don’t let things go to waste, just because you can afford new ones.
For example, my kid cousin’s laptop has been acting up for some time now. But instead of buying them a new pc, I ordered the replacement for the faulty part and repaired the laptop myself. This way, we not only reduce our e-waste footprint on the planet, but in the process, we teach kids to value things.
The point is, whether you do it yourself or get it done by a professional, by practicing repair, you are actively participating in the making of a greener, cleaner and healthier world.
It’s not enough to be just a consumer, you gotta be a conscious consumer, otherwise there is no difference between a consumer and a slave. That is why, right-to-repair is not only a human rights issue, it is also an environmental issue. Repairing and recycling are the bedrock of sustainability. So I say again – reject less, repair more.
Thus, in the name of progress we the gadget-mad gargoyles keep acting as the true eco-terrorists of the glorious dumping ground, called the planet earth. 2% of all our waste is e-waste. And the alarming bit here is that, that 2% e-waste comprises over 70% of our overall toxic waste.
So, what can you do, you ask? Simple – reject less, repair more. Try to make things last as long as possible, or pass them on to those who have need for them. Don’t let things go to waste, just because you can afford new ones.
For example, my kid cousin’s laptop has been acting up for some time now. But instead of buying them a new pc, I ordered the replacement for the faulty part and repaired the laptop myself. This way, we not only reduce our e-waste footprint on the planet, but in the process, we teach kids to value things.
The point is, whether you do it yourself or get it done by a professional, by practicing repair, you are actively participating in the making of a greener, cleaner and healthier world.
It’s not enough to be just a consumer, you gotta be a conscious consumer, otherwise there is no difference between a consumer and a slave. That is why, right-to-repair is not only a human rights issue, it is also an environmental issue. Repairing and recycling are the bedrock of sustainability. So I say again – reject less, repair more.
