Does pursuit of happiness lead you to fear sadness and battles you may not win?
Provocative thoughts from Hugh McKay at a Sydney Writers Festival
Hugh McKay voices ideas to which I think we should give serious consideration. I added the thought that maybe our rigid and unquestioned commitment to being happy might lead us to avoid situations where we might fail, like trying to aid someone else’s pursuit of happiness by attacking the untruths in their way. I don’t know to whom I should attribute this idea so I will just say that I got it from the Skeptical Cat.
“I actually attack the concept of happiness. I don’t mind people being happy – but the idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to me a really dangerous idea and has led to a contemporary disease in Western society, which is fear of sadness. It’s a really odd thing that we’re now seeing people saying 'write down 3 things that made you happy today before you go to sleep', and 'cheer up' and 'happiness is our birthright' and so on. We’re kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position – it’s rubbish. Wholeness is what we ought to b…