The secret of happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible, horrible, horrible.
—Bertrand Russell
That’s not the whole story, but there is a lot of truth in it.
May 4, 2017
Bertrand Russell’s Secret to Happiness
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LOLOL!
yes. a lot of truth there.
the secret to real happiness is seeing all the horribleness and loving it anyway. I see that now. and for a born pollyanna it’s an important discovery.
there’s an interesting topic monk.
are we ‘born’ a pollyanna or a cynic? is it in our DNA?
it’s as natural to me to be a pollyanna as it is to breathe. even as a child.
it’s something I’ve actually worked to try to change about myself. but it’s hard.
like a zebra trying to change its stripes.
I was recently reminded that cynics prefer to be called realists. another interesting topic. 🙂
If it works for you, why try to change?
Yes, I’m afraid it is the truth.
The world is horrible.
Every day, in some way, we are reminded of it.
But it’s also wonderful, magical, beautiful and hilarious.
I think the secret is to realize it, not ignore and do our part to change it
but count our blessings and find joy in the everyday.
That’s what he was saying, I think. There is a lot of suffering in the world, and we can’t stop much of it, but don’t let that poison our lives.
It is the fate of humans to constantly try to change that…maybe it’s not possible. I’d hate to believe that was so.
We can do our little bit and not be overwhelmed by all that we can’t do.
Stephen Hawkings thinks human life on earth is doomed so we’d better start moving to other planets if we want mankind to survive. And Elon Musk is aiming to start colonizing Mars in his lifetime. A different world than the one we were born into!
I beg to disagree. One’s vision is horrible.
Yes, poor Russell was a sensitive soul:
Empathy does have its downside.
I’m well aware the world is pretty horrible. The question is how I deal with that fact. I can sink into a pessimistic stupor or aim to make my own little fragment of the world as happy and enjoyable as possible. Naturally I opt for the latter.