… Abd al-Rahman III, the emir and caliph of Córdoba in 10th-century Spain, summed up a life of worldly success at about age 70: "I have now reigned above 50 years in victory or peace; beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call."
And the payoff? "I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot," he wrote. "They amount to 14."
As an observer, I understand the problem. I write a column about human happiness for The Atlantic and teach classes on the subject at Harvard. I know that satisfaction is one of the core "macronutrients" of happiness (the other two being enjoyment and meaning), and that its slippery nature is one of the reasons happiness is often so elusive as well...
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/03/why-we-are-never-satisfied-happiness/621304/
I really enjoyed this. It reminds me of a quote from The wizard of Oz, oddly enough, when Glenda tells Dorothy to "hold tight, inside of the ruby slippers; that their magic must be very powerful, or the wicked witch of the West, wouldn't want them so badly." Lol.
ReplyDeleteI was reminded of that movie quote, because of the last part, that states ”that its slippery nature is one of the reasons happiness is often so elusive as well..." I feel as though the author is basically saying that because happiness is so hard to obtain and hold on to; it makes it more valuable to people, to try to obtain.
The author also writes that he has only experienced 14 days in total of pure happiness; which makes me wonder if happiness is purely a gift, that we are granted in addition to life; and if a satisfied life, isn't just one in which you've gotten to experience at least one of those days, within it.
Hard to believe ANY 70-year old, let alone an emir and caliph, really has had only 14 happy days. But it depends on temperament and luck, doesn't it? And on where we set the bar. Some of us are gifted with happier temperaments and better luck than others, but most of us can improve our chances and reframe our expectations to become happier.
DeleteThe author of that essay, Arthur Brooks, has a new book: From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life... If amy of us wants to take a look and post about it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57005179-from-strength-to-strength
Thank you for that suggestion Doctor Oliver. It is hard to believe that he only narrowed that down to 14 days, but I took it to mean, 14 days of pure happiness perhaps? I feel like we all have happy days, that we don't necessarily equate to days of pure happiness. Anyways, the book that you suggested sounds like that may be a good read; something worth checking out. Thank you! :)
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