Chapters 5-7

 I'm starting to find more agreeance with the author, as I proceed through chapters 5 through 7. 

In chapter 5 he describes fatigue as an obstacle to happiness. As with anything else that we experience in excess rather than moderation; I can agree with him that a certain degree of fatigue is healthy, whereas experiencing fatigue beyond a healthy level, can cause a barrier that prevents a person from achieving happiness. I agree also that some fatigue is experienced through social interactions that are required through day-to-day work activities and our efforts to appropriately respond them. He basically is saying that this can be expected but that the problem is that people need to address those moments in which that fatigue is inevitable and then basically not dwell on them later or bring those problems home with them- that's the true fatigue that happens in excess is a result of when those things don't get addressed and we spend additional unneeded energies worrying about them in times that we don't need to. And that if we remove those fears and anxieties that cause us to feel that unnecessary fatigue, then we can remove that barrier from our stride towards happiness. He gives the example of when he used to get worried about how well he would speak prior to giving a speech; until he realized finally that I didn't matter if he spoke well or badly; basically if the speech went bad it's not something that he couldn't live on past, or that would greatly affect him in the grand scheme of the future. He says that people spend a great deal of time concerned with the what ifs of a situation, instead he suggests that they just concentrate on the worst case scenario and come to terms with it, and then just move on about what they need to do; if the worst case scenario should occur then they've already consciously dealt with it and have moved it to their subconscious to be addressed only if need to be. 

In chapter 6 he describes envy as another potential cause of unhappiness. He says the democracy gives to us equality; however sometimes when people spend too much time comparing their lives to the lives of others, they develop a feeling of envy. The description that he gives of a well dressed woman walking by another group of women, and that group of women immediately within their own minds trying to come up with derogatory thoughts towards her; being a woman I can concur that this unfortunately is the reality of how many women compare themselves to one another. I do not partake in this type of judgmental behavior myself. Perhaps because the way I was raised or perhaps because I was raised by a man; but I feel that instead it's much more rewarding internally to just appreciate the fine detail of the woman's clothing, and feel good for her that she has been able to put herself together so well, and maybe even compliment her on it. I can very much so relate to what he is saying on page 81 about how an envious person "instead of driving pleasure from what he has, he derives pain from what others have."If he can, he deprives others of their advantages, which to him is as desirable as it would be to secure the same advantages himself." He says that these people will even make up lies about the person that they envy, in order to rob them of these advantages; because basically robbing them of their advantages, in essence removes the pain that they feel out of envy for not possessing the advantages themselves. I am unfortunate to have had an experience with a family member of mine that was very similar to this; she had acted hateful and envious of me since we were kids, even though I did not act in the same way to her. And I made a mistake of sharing with her some talents and aspirations of mine, and the things that matter to me within my life to make those aspirations achievable. And this person did everything in her power to remove those things from my life that make those aspirations possible. In the end it robbed me of happiness, but I doubt that she gained any true happiness through it, and in the end, if you believe in things like karma, then I don't she will benefit from it in the grand scheme of life.

I also agree on his conversation regarding modesty; while it is a virtue, I believe that it is best to have in a balanced moderation. Too much modesty as he says can cause people to grow up to think that they need more reassurance than they actually need, in order to do their job for instance. Whereas if we instill confidence within our children as I try to do to a balanced degree, well also teaching them to achieve some form of modesty, they grow up to be better rounded individuals, who can provide reassurance for themselves of their own capabilities.

Then in chapter 7 which is titled the sense of sin, he describes feeling a sense of sin being one of the most important causes for unhappiness. He says that in large the sense of sin that people feel, is based upon things that they were taught were vices when they were children by their parents, and the nurturing that they received from their parents upon doing what is good or right. I like his discussion on morality and rational ethics, and the counterbalancing of the pain that those vices inflicts upon you or others. I also like his example of when he had encountered a tired fox upon his last stages of life, still forcing himself to run. When he came across the hunters that asked him which direction the fox had went, although he would not normally lie, he did. He respected the foxes last fight for life. And that type of lie to him did more good than harm. It was a lie that he could live with. I also strongly agree with him that if a child is educated to only see sex as a bad thing, or worse if the subject is avoided completely, it can affect his sexual interactions as an adult, and lead to unhappiness and his marriage, and unsatisfying sexual experiences. I also agree with what he gives as the right method of educating children on such a thing, and have educated mine in the same way- it says that until a child is nearing the age of puberty, you should wait to teach them about the subject; and wants you do teach them about it avoid and stealing the idea that there is anything disgusting about something that is a natural part of life. I took the same approach with my son as he was showing sons of puberty now at age 11, and I did not want him to experience puberty, thinking that there's anything wrong with him; I wanted him to understand that it is natural part of life and a rite of passage for which all young men will experience.