Today I was talking to a friend and suddenly we started discussing the ways of life.
He explained to me, there are basically two ways of living life
1) For Happiness
2) For Purpose
People who live for happiness, are content and may or may-not be achievers in the broad sense of society, Yet... they are in their own world.
The people who live for purpose, get satisfaction and are achievers in their own arena and most of the time in the eyes of society at large. Seldom do these people have happiness, because happiness is a state of mind and not something that can be quantized and measured.
I argued that it is not true, having satisfaction of fulfilling the purpose and moving on to the next one is itself happiness... the joy of completing something isn't something one puts away lightly. On this he sharply replied, satisfaction of completing one's purpose is not always happiness... He elaborated by illustrating a simple act of doing societal good at the cost of one's personal life, he explained that the person, who is purpose oriented ALWAYS has to make a SACRIFICE without which the purpose is not complete.
I asked, is it always that giving is painful?
2 comments:
Firstly,
Can i not say that two says are basically same? We live for a purpose,for some the purpose is happiness itself ( I'm not sure if i shall call it Hedonism).
If you look at history, the monarchs believed in the purpose of happiness.I don't agree that people who live for happiness are contented. May be the other way round its true. People who are content are happy.
Coming to the 2nd point what you have mentioned as Purposeful living, my question is what is the purpose?
The purpose for societal good,in turn you feel the satisfaction,which is nothing but happiness. Therefore incidentally, the purpose is always some bliss. The illusion that we have is that happiness can be achieved by reaching different levels of success.
And as you succeed one level, the desire for more keeps growing and finally happiness becomes illusory.
The classification can be based on
1. People who have an inherent desire burning always.
2. People who are seemingly happy in their current position. They have also desire for more but doesn't put much effort for that and therefore tries to be content with what they have.
3. People who are aloof from all such things.
So in other words,
1. People who succeeds or tries to make their own course of life.
2. People who follows the path life takes.
3. People who wonder why at all they are in the path or where the path leads to ?
At different stages of life, most of us pass through each of those stages.
Finally,on the question that you have raised whether giving is painful?
My take is that from outside it seems to be painful, the person who endures the pain doesn't feel so.
From the point of view of economics, while choosing to put his/her efforts for the so-called Purpose, the person always does a cost-benefit analysis.
So the sacrifice must be rewarding enough to overcome the cost undertaken and therefore the person himself/herself doesn't feel the pain. Apparently for outsiders , it seems to be a pain-point.
Post a Comment