When money can buy happiness
March 16, 2010 by Juliet Chase
Filed under The Art of Happiness
The developed world has a weird relationship with money. It depends upon it, yet spurns it – lauds those who have it, while criticizing their use of it. The reality is that money just facilitates – it’s up to you to decide the emotional spectrum.
Studies show that giving to others feels good (money can buy happiness) and yet while poor people actually give more of their income in America than the rich there are no studies proving that poor people are happier than rich people (so maybe it can’t?).
If money facilitates a trip home to see family then surely that’s buying happiness (assuming you like your family…) or when it allows you to bring creativity into your life in the form of music or art or even typing on the train while cruising past ocean beaches.
If your subconscious mind has decided that money won’t buy happiness you could be sabotaging yourself when opportunities arise. It’s true that for some it doesn’t but it’s not the money that decides to buy illegal drugs instead of building a schoolhouse in Africa so trust yourself – let the money buy happiness and opportunity.
In Celebration
December 21, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Visual Meditation of the Week
A little something different for this week that begins with the Winter Solstice and ends with Christmas. This video is my Christmas card this year – handmade and digital! Whatever you’re celebrating this week, even if it’s just a day off work, I hope there is joy and good food:-)
I’m happy, what about you?
September 10, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under The Art of Happiness
As an aid to inspiration and blogging I have a few Google alerts setup to keep me up to date on what is being posted out there on certain topics. When I set it up the word ‘happiness’ seemed like a logical choice but now I’m starting to roll my eyes out of frustration. Every single day there are ten or so blog posts or articles that Google deems newsworthy enough to send me with titles like “8 steps to happiness” “money doesn’t buy happiness”, “money does buy happiness”, “why aren’t we happy”, “what is happiness”, “how to be happier” etc., etc., etc. The web is obsessing about happiness and it seems to be getting unhappier about it every day.
When I stop to think about it, I am happy. I don’t have everything I want, I haven’t achieved my big goals, I have money worries, and I just lost my father but when I go down the back steps and out to my garage to solder little bronze wires together, I’m happy. When I sit down to my computer and write, I’m happy. The way I know that is that I consciously ask myself how I’m feeling rather than waiting for a certificate in the mail saying that I’ve achieved happiness. It seems like people are confusing the emotion with a lack of stress or a specific goal. It is possible to be both happy and sad at the same time or happy and stressed.
So how are you feeling? Do you find yourself frowning or smiling when you’re by yourself and nobody can see you?
An exercise in satisfaction
May 5, 2009 by Juliet Chase
Filed under Pursuit of Happiness
This is my assignment for myself this week and I’m offering it to you as well if you want to try it. Maybe we can compare notes later. I’m curious to see what happens with it and what I end up choosing.
Fill in the blank of the following sentence, “This week I’m going to have the most satisfying _____ ever” and then make it happen this week. That blank could be anything that tickles your fancy: a bath, a massage, a dessert, a kiss, a picnic, hiking, you get the idea. If you went for a bath it could involve lighting candles, bringing in a CD player and a glass of wine, etc. Just make it the best experience of it’s kind you’ve ever had.
What’s the point? Besides just being fun, I think we all tend to focus on the long-term goals and just get by in the meantime. Sort of the dessert after vegetables mentality which is fine for dinner but if the vegetable course lasts a few years or decades it’s a different story. I know I’m guilty of cutting a few corners unnecessarily just to give myself the illusion of efficiency or because I’ve convinced myself that it doesn’t really make that much difference.
Isn’t it time we made some changes in our day to day lives to reflect the life we want to achieve? None of this has to cost money, it’s really more about putting the effort and the thought into abundance and excellence in the moment. And rather than focusing on the perfection of the noun you filled in, try for the emotion of satisfaction. What would make the most satisfying dessert as opposed to is this dessert perfect? I think the difference between this exercise and just treating yourself is putting the emphasis on making it the best of it’s kind; how far are you willing to take it? How creative can you get?
I haven’t decided how I’m completing this sentence yet and the week is already ticking away. Any ideas?
