In many languages, the word happy used to be synonymous with luck. As English speakers, we’ll recognize the root of the word happy in the word happenstance. Along with the change in the meaning of the word happy, so too has our understanding of the cause of happiness changed. Now, in addition to attributing happiness to circumstances, we now recognize that genetics and attitude play roles in our state of mind. We’ve also changed our perception that only a fortunate few get to be happy, now accepting that it is a human right to be able to pursue our happiness, as stated in the Declaration of Independence’s “life, liberty and the pursuit happiness.”
By why a discussion about happiness in a newsletter about sustainable living? I could justify it by arguing that happiness is the goal of sustainable practices. If everyone lived within their ecological means, they’d be healthier, have a greater purpose, be more secure, and have more time for the things they love - in a nutshell, they’d be happier. But this isn’t why I felt compelled to write about happiness today. Rather, it is because so many people I know, are from time to time saddened and anxious about the state of society and the planet. A global pandemic. Divided and fractious cultures. Climate armageddon. Plummeting biodiversity. Poverty. Social injustices … Sometimes an image comes unbidden to me of each of us harnessed to massive anvils of sadness, pulling us down through quicksand.
I have to remind myself, that is not the whole picture, nor indeed is it accurate. There are many wonderful things going on. Autumn colors and smells abound. Daffodils are already starting to pop up. It’s the season for a warming soup by a wood fire or a cup of tea with a good book. We are making progress on climate change, we need to hurry up, but at least it is on the menu these days. There are calls and actions to protect the oceans. People are turning from pesticides and fertilizers and allowing native habits to return to their properties, so, hopefully, insect numbers will start recovering. There seems to be a growing awareness that each of us has the opportunity to change our own anvils into pendulums to ring in change.
And even though positive action can be profoundly empowering, it is easy enough to be overwhelmed by negativity these days. This is where our modern understanding, that the source of happiness is more than just luck, is so very critical. Although two of the drivers of happiness, circumstances and our genetic makeup, are mostly beyond our control, we can manage the third happiness driver by choosing to take a positive outlook, a “happy stance” if you will. Ideas for nurturing happiness abound on the internet, most appropriately for this week of Thanksgiving, happiness lists are topped with practices to nurture gratitude.
As a society, we’ve learned that we can increase our happiness through practice. Who would have thought? Science has recently shown that even faking a smile can trick our bodies into thinking we’re happy and getting some of the subsequent benefits. I encourage us all to take time this weekend, and indeed every weekend, to do something just for the fun of it. No obligation. No list checking. Joy for its own sake. Bake a cake, call a friend, finger paint. Whatever floats your boat.
Why is happiness so important aside from beating back the dark clouds of despair? Being happy releases serotonin and dopamine, which reduces stress and tension in our bodies. This has ramifications for our organ health, our immune systems, and our mental health. Happier people live longer, have better cardiovascular health, recover quicker from illness, and so on and so on. These days it is especially important to pull ourselves back into our own lives, into our own bodies if you are a yogi or a meditater, and to be present for the beauty and joy that is around us. We can practice gratitude for the bounty which we do have. If only just to improve our productivity or to be a more effective activist, we need to have joy and happiness to recharge ourselves.
For me, the need to nurture my own happiness goes further. I have a sense of obligation to have joy in my life when all is relatively good for me and mine. Not in an onerous way, but if I am not grateful and nurturing my own joy, I feel like a spoiled brat. Experiencing joy is its own end but it also affords me the opportunity to spread love and happiness. When I think of other eras, I hope the people then were happy and joyful. I hope they didn’t spend all their time worrying, or all their time working but were able to access happiness. I hope this most fervently for my loved ones. Presumably, other people have these thoughts towards you and me - the hope that we live joyously. Don’t we owe it to the global sum of love and joy to nurture our own contentment by taking a positive view?
Here in the US, Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday. It is hands down my favorite holiday. It is all about gratitude and joy. It is perhaps the best thing to have ever come out of America.
So, in addition to happy Thanksgiving to you all, happy stance too.