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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
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"THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
IS MAKING ME MISERABLE..." “The pursuit of happiness is making me miserable,” announces a Canadian journalist in the Toronto Star, by way of introduction to a long article surveying the burgeoning field of “positive psychology.” It doesn’t make UD miserable. On the contrary, regular readers know [see UD posts dated 9/25/04, 7/15/04, and 7/13/04] that, for UD, extensive reading in the science of happiness is a hoot. She’s even written a poem - an update of a Renaissance poem about happiness - demonstrating the strides we’ve made in the definition and understanding of happiness in our time. To refresh your memory, she’ll first record the original poem. Then, drawing upon sources in the literature, she’ll offer her own. Sir Henry Wotton THE CHARACTER OF A HAPPY LIFE (1611) How happy is he born or taught That serveth not another’s will, Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his highest skill; Whose passions not his masters are; Whose soul is still prepared for death, Untied unto the world with care Of princes’ grace or vulgar breath; Who envies none whom chance doth raise, Or vice; who never understood The deepest wounds are given by praise, By rule of state but not of good; Who hath his life from rumors freed, Whose conscience is his strong retreat, Whose state can neither flatterers feed Nor ruins make accusers great; Who God doth late and early pray More of his grace than goods to send, And entertains the harmless day With a well-chosen book or friend. This man is free from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall, Lord of himself, though not of lands, And having nothing, yet hath all. University Diaries THE CHARACTER OF A PSYCHOLOGICALLY POSITIVE LIFE (2005) How high on the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory does he score Among whose signature strengths is self-realization; Whose most buildable component and societal contributor Derives from his context of experience-optimalization; Whose Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Not his masters are; aye, whose Inspiration Scale Prepares him to undergo mood elevations Equal to his Psychological Well-Being Scale and Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale. He envies none whom chance doth raise, But aces his Gratitude Questionnaire; Upon whose Happiness Formula (H [happiness] - S [set barriers to happiness] + C [circumstances] + V [voluntary variables]) the Lord does gaze To see impressive Personal Growth Initiative there. Yea, though his VIA Strengths Inventory His Psychological Well-Being Scale doth trail, No matter: God knows the greatest glory Lies in the Subjective Happiness Scale. In sum, his happiness set point, Measured by the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Doth all his earthly days anoint With excellent surcease of care. |