By one account, in the beginning, there were two happy people. Everything was provided for them. On this innocence-based, non-envious definition, they should have been contented. But happy -- ie seemingly contented -- people, can be tempted away from their garden of happiness. You know the rest of this story.
In the above account, the couple was duped by an envious entity, and lost their innocence.
Hence, is there a form of perverse "happiness" -- the pleasure some get from seeing others being unhappy. Indeed, the ancient Greeks had thought about it.
Aesop told a story about a man to whom Zeus would grant any wish, provided his neighbour got twice as much. He asked for a mansion and his neighbour received one twice as big. But the man was envious of his neighbour. So Aesop's story ends with the man asking Zeus to blind him in one eye.
Fast forward to today. There is positive psychology now, and there are happiness studies, the science of happiness, happiness indices, happiness tests (and such silly stuff as the survey I mentioned yesterday).
Ultimately, happiness has to be how one defines and seeks it, even if it's about dying for a smoke,as this story goes:
A laboratory rabbit somehow managed to escape from the lab where he had been born and brought up -- for a specific purpose.
As he happily fled the compound, he felt grass under his little paws for the first time, as he came upon a lush field. And he saw a wondrous dawn breaking for the first time in his life.
"Wow, this is great," he thought. He came to a hedge and, after squeezing under it, he saw yet another wonderful sight: lots of other male bunny rabbits, all free, having fun and nibbling at the lush grass.
"Hey," he called. "I'm a rabbit from the laboratory and I've just escaped. Are you wild rabbits?"
"Yes. Come and join us," they cried. He hopped over to them and started eating the grass. It tasted so good, unlike the tasteless food he grew up with.
"What else do you wild rabbits do?" he asked. "Well," one of them said. "You see that field there? It's got the most delicious carrots growing in it." This he couldn't resist and he spent the next hour eating the most succulent carrots. He felt full, happy and contented.
Later, he asked them again, "What else do you do?"
One of the other rabbits came a bit closer to him and spoke softly. "There's one other thing you must try. You see those female rabbits there," he said, pointing to the far corner of the field. "They're girls. We make out with them."
And so, our little bunny -- true to his instincts -- went to do what bunnies do.
He spent the rest of the morning making out until, completely knackered, he staggered back over to the guys. "That was fantastic," he panted.
"So are you going to live with us and enjoy your newfound freedom?" one of them asked.
"I'm sorry, I had a great time but I can't." The wild rabbits all stared at him, a bit surprised. "Why? We thought you liked it here."
"I do. But I must get back to the lab. I'm dying for a cigarette," he said.
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Postscript: Why the number 271,000,000 in the heading above? Google "happiness" and you'll find out.
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