I live by one principle: Enjoy life with no conditions! People say, “If I had your health, if I had your money, oh, I would enjoy myself.” It is not true. I would be happy if I were lying sick in a hospital bed. It must come from the inside. That is the one thing I hope to have contributed to my children, by example and by talk: to make no conditions, to understand life is a wonderful thing and to try to enjoy it, every day, to the full.
—Artur Rubenstein
Do you think that’s possible, or at least something worth trying for?
He seems to have managed it:
I would never use him as a role model because I’m interested in different things than he was, not to mention his incredible talent! But I’ve taken his quote to heart.
January 17, 2022
To have and live a full life is in your heart and soul. Just like living a life if riches…it’s up to the individual only.
What’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander.
…life OF riches (not if)
Yes, one size doesn’t fit all. We have to figure out what our individual lives are about.
I see a “Man” and men do have vastly different ideals to what a woman thinks of her life. I try to be happy as much as possible, even on my sad days I try to find a good “thing” within it.
Yesterday I was trying to flip pikelets which I’d made with a GF flour recipe – it wasn’t happening, “my hands”. I didn’t want to waste the mixture so I put it in the oven…it’s turned okay, and it’s edible!
That’s the spirit!
It’s possible to be happy with your life no matter what and I agree to a large extend that it has to come from within but I also think that having “enough oney” is a subjective thing. Having enough so that you’re not worrying about, say, where your next meal is coming from does make it easier to be happy.
I agree. 🙂
I do think happiness comes from within…it is something I tell Roger all the time. Yet, I don’t think it is as simple as that…a person just cannot will themselves to be happy.
We saw a documentary once, years ago…I cannot remember the name of it for the life of me. I would give anything to find it. I have spent hours trying to find it. I cannot remember many details about it, except that some of the things stated so fit different ones of our families. They fit us to a ‘t’. Things such as how our grandparents ate—did they have a plentiful, full diet….how our parents lived…
And then there is abuse, and how that cannot help but change a person’s point of view and how they feel about themselves…how they feel about life.
Sure. There have been/are plenty of people oppressed with no say over their lives. Here we’re talking about can we do it, given our circumstances? I’m always reminding Andy how lucky we have been to have been born when and where we were. Sure we studied and worked and saved, and we were also lucky that money was tight when we were kids. We really appreciate things now.
I love his philosophy of life! in that aspect he is definitely a role model.
I have many role models. and truthfully they are all from that era it seems!
there is great courage and a simple appreciation of LIFE itself to me. xo
I agree, in this aspect, i.e., the quote. But not the prodigious appetite for art, travel, books food, wine, etc. I like a simpler life, taking delight in the little things. That works best for me.
I totally agree! We need to be content with what we have, like Paul says in the bible. To keep wanting something different is to waste the life we have been given.
Yes!! 🙂
I’ve always believed that if you can’t be happy in your current situation then changing your location or job or whatever isn’t going to magically change that. My daughter used to complain all the time about living in a small town. She was miserable and would say as soon as she was 18 she was getting out of this place. I would tell her if you can’t be happy here then you won’t be happy anywhere else that you go. Can you guess where she lives now at 39?
Good for you!
I do not believe this is true. there is no one that is happy when in the hospital. I do believe we can be happy and content with what we have. the thing about this quote is I have heard many people who say the same thing but differently and they all have money, lots of it. I would like to see quotes made by people who live hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck. money can’t buy happiness but it is hard to be happy when you have 2 jobs, 2 kids and can’t pay your bills. I lived my life on the hard side, from birth to about 60 years old. life is a struggle to feed and clothe and shelter for a very large part of our world.
Yes, it wouldn’t apply to everyone, but it’s helpful to some. I actually was happy a couple of times when I was in the hospital. In one case the doctor had been conservative and took out my appendix. I was so cheerful about it, walking around the hospital to get back in shape as soon as possible, that I was accused of faking the symptoms. The appendix had been perfectly healthy, so I had been lying to get attention. Hmm. No, I would rather have kept my appendix, but I didn’t want it to burst if it had been infected.
Thought-provoking! To me, enjoyment is an elusive thing. Contentment, peace of mind is paramount right now.
That’s worth a lot! 🙂
Happiness requires acceptance. Now that I have have accepted my circumstances I find myself smiling all the time. I’m pretty sure I’d never been truly happy before since I was always trying to change everything around me. I’m glad I finally reached acceptance even if it came so late in life.
I’m happy for you! 🙂
The older I get the easier I find it to find happiness in nearly every given day. Is that wisdom?
That sounds like a great definition to me. 🙂
He’s right that happiness has to come from the inside. If you rely on externals to make you happy, you’re going to be constantly disappointed.
Yes. 🙂