Janet, thank you for the comment. Yes. Some people search for this state of being compulsively and want to feel it 100% of the time. Especially young people. Which is unrealistic expectation and my latest text might assist with that.
I think every emotion is a state of being, we choose which one we want to be in. Eg. When something happened, whether we wana stay in a sad or happy mood. After all it is a choice we make that determine what state we wana be in! 🤷♀️
I look at our states of being as the weather. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it is sunny. Yes, we can have the umbrella or get in the car instead of walking to avoid getting wet. Sometimes we have to do something no matter the weather, sometimes we can stay home when it is not pleasant outside. If we have a plan, which comes from our meaning, we can navigate towards it in any weather. Love the sunny days, though.
Sometimes I have to remind myself of the Myth of Sysiphus whenever I face hardship: I create my own meaning and nobody or nothing can take this power and happiness away from me.
Mal, thank you for reading! I am glad that despite this text is written a while ago it still resonates. True, only we can give and take away happiness from ourselves. Hardship is inevitable. Greetings from Vilnius.
I have a story on happiness and its false promises, and what we should be looking for, as well, on my site. You are right, and I took lots of hope from Frankl during some very dark days.
"Once you know why are you doing something, it makes sense to have bad days trying to get there." This is such a grest way of thinking about it. And great essay, Tomas! I'm curious - what has helped you the most in finding your meaning?
Linart, thank you for reading. I do not base the meaning of my life on a sole purpose. Getting to the next level in my work, gym experience, writing, learning new stuff, meeting new people, being more present and see things that I was not able to see before provides me with enough meaning to continue my journey. What about you?
Yes, "Happiness" is unattainable. No one is immune to adversity, and it strikes when we least expect it. I think "HAPPIER" should be the goal. Great AI images in this post, BTW.
I love your statement that meaning is a feeling. This is so simple, basic and TRUE. Meaning only comes when we feel it has come. Sometimes we need to take action toward meaning but we cannot have it without a feeling.
Donna, thank you so much for reading my text! I appreaciate your feedback and love your resonance with "meaning is a feeling" part. I deeply believe that it is the only real way to have it. The fact that you made a promise and kept it tells me a lot of good things about your personality. All the best, and looking forward to reading more of your work.
You're right when you say it's a childish take on the world. I'll say there are a million takes on life, and I don't put happiness first, I'll put my work on a pedestal and hope to leave a trail behind. Many great writers weren't happy in their lives but they would be remembered forever or a time that might seem forever.
For me, it's actually piece of mind I'm looking for, feeling peaceful and content is just awesome. But also those are not things you can have all the time, although it can be a general description of the majority of your time being. Overall I feel happy, peaceful and content about my life, with the occassional hick ups.
And those things are indeed not found in the pleasure seeking activities such as binge watching netflix.
Marie, thank you very much for your feedback. Feeling peaceful and content is the best feeling ever, that is where I spend my most time at. However, occasionally I look for worth-while challenges to take on. This ensures my peace last longer. Glad that you enjoyed the book and best of luck with your writing!
Happiness is a state of being, there is no need for searching! 🙏😊
Janet, thank you for the comment. Yes. Some people search for this state of being compulsively and want to feel it 100% of the time. Especially young people. Which is unrealistic expectation and my latest text might assist with that.
I think every emotion is a state of being, we choose which one we want to be in. Eg. When something happened, whether we wana stay in a sad or happy mood. After all it is a choice we make that determine what state we wana be in! 🤷♀️
I look at our states of being as the weather. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it is sunny. Yes, we can have the umbrella or get in the car instead of walking to avoid getting wet. Sometimes we have to do something no matter the weather, sometimes we can stay home when it is not pleasant outside. If we have a plan, which comes from our meaning, we can navigate towards it in any weather. Love the sunny days, though.
A good analogy using the weather to represent our state of being! 👍
Yeah! I love the sunny days the most but I don't hate rainy days. Just that it makes me feel stuck unless I go dance in the rain! Lol 🤣
For me happiness isn’t a feeling, it’s the state where you can accept and see through any feelings meaning. Great post :)
Marco, thank you for reading and sharing your insight!
Agree.
Sometimes I have to remind myself of the Myth of Sysiphus whenever I face hardship: I create my own meaning and nobody or nothing can take this power and happiness away from me.
Mal, thank you for reading! I am glad that despite this text is written a while ago it still resonates. True, only we can give and take away happiness from ourselves. Hardship is inevitable. Greetings from Vilnius.
As I get older ' enjoying the process' is the meaning for me.
Nikki, thank you for insightful comment. The process is 99% of life, it is worth enjoying it.
I have a story on happiness and its false promises, and what we should be looking for, as well, on my site. You are right, and I took lots of hope from Frankl during some very dark days.
Thank you for sharing. Viktor Frankl indeed life a life that became an example on perseverance even in the darkest days.
"Once you know why are you doing something, it makes sense to have bad days trying to get there." This is such a grest way of thinking about it. And great essay, Tomas! I'm curious - what has helped you the most in finding your meaning?
Linart, thank you for reading. I do not base the meaning of my life on a sole purpose. Getting to the next level in my work, gym experience, writing, learning new stuff, meeting new people, being more present and see things that I was not able to see before provides me with enough meaning to continue my journey. What about you?
Yes, "Happiness" is unattainable. No one is immune to adversity, and it strikes when we least expect it. I think "HAPPIER" should be the goal. Great AI images in this post, BTW.
John, thank you for the insightful feedback.
I love your statement that meaning is a feeling. This is so simple, basic and TRUE. Meaning only comes when we feel it has come. Sometimes we need to take action toward meaning but we cannot have it without a feeling.
Thank you Tomas!
Donna, thank you so much for reading my text! I appreaciate your feedback and love your resonance with "meaning is a feeling" part. I deeply believe that it is the only real way to have it. The fact that you made a promise and kept it tells me a lot of good things about your personality. All the best, and looking forward to reading more of your work.
You're right when you say it's a childish take on the world. I'll say there are a million takes on life, and I don't put happiness first, I'll put my work on a pedestal and hope to leave a trail behind. Many great writers weren't happy in their lives but they would be remembered forever or a time that might seem forever.
Rick, thank you for insightful comment. 100%, leaving a legacy is one of the meanings we can assign to life to make it worthwhile.
Great book, Man's search for meaning.
For me, it's actually piece of mind I'm looking for, feeling peaceful and content is just awesome. But also those are not things you can have all the time, although it can be a general description of the majority of your time being. Overall I feel happy, peaceful and content about my life, with the occassional hick ups.
And those things are indeed not found in the pleasure seeking activities such as binge watching netflix.
Great post and welcome to Substack Tomas!!
Marie, thank you very much for your feedback. Feeling peaceful and content is the best feeling ever, that is where I spend my most time at. However, occasionally I look for worth-while challenges to take on. This ensures my peace last longer. Glad that you enjoyed the book and best of luck with your writing!
The second part is actually vital indeed, good you mentioned it, because we need the challenge to grow! Life goes in ups and downs
Yes! I wrote it because after some prolonged time of content it became too peaceful for me so I have decided to work and improve my "formula".