If the pursuit of happiness comes from external things, what happens when you run out of things to p

TITLE SHOULD READ

***If the pursuit of happiness comes from external things, what happens when you run out of things to pursue?***

Its a fundamental question for a society obsessed with material possessions. We chase these dreams as if capturing them will bring us closer to fulfillment and happiness.

We are sold everything from toothpaste to fast cars with the understanding that it will make us more whole. And yet the more we have the more we want and the more we want the sadder we become because we don't have what we want.

Have we become so conditioned to be spoiled brats that we cant see the difference of wants and needs. We dont need a bigger house but we do WANT one.

What happens when we run out of all the junk we are told we need to be happy? I mean how the hell did our grandparents live their life without the latest ab cruncher or that 1000 horse power ride on turbo charged lawn mower? How did they survive? They must have been miserable?

We have become such consumption machines that we are now the very thing that threaten us. The irony in than is surely not lost on me. I acknowledge myself as being a victim and perpetrator of this crime. I am in sales so the burden of guilt wears heavy on some days. But everybody is guilty to some point or another and I merely inherited my slavery.

So while people bitch and moan about religion and politics about gun control and human rights about suppressed technologies and alien coverups. They still wake up every day and turn the cogs of the machine that keep us enslaved.

Maybe that was ATS is at its heart. A pressure release valve for those that know they are slaves so we dont contaminate the rest of the slaves with illusions of grandeur. We come on here daily read the insanity and injustice in the world and then get mad at it all shake our fists in the air promising its all coming down soon and go back to turning those cogs that keep the mouse wheel turning.

All in the pursuit of happiness we will chase to our graves.

Hopefully one day you will run out of 'things' that make you happy. Then you can plunge deeply into depression and want to die.
The one that will die is the false identity that 'believes' things are the source of happiness.
You are happiness, you are joy but it is not seen because the 'things' blind you from yourself.

Originally posted by Itisnowagain
Hopefully one day you will run out of 'things' that make you happy. Then you can plunge deeply into depression and want to die.
The one that will die is the false identity that 'believes' things are the source of happiness.
You are happiness, you are joy but it is not seen because the 'things' blind you from yourself.

I wasn't talking about myself specifically. There are days that I dont need anything to make me happy. Im just happy to be alive. But the power of subliminal advertising is strong and deeply imbedded in most of the human race. Thanks for the input.

I would argue that happiness does not come from owning external things, but from within.

We choose to be happy. Its' that simple.

It's actually ironic the way you have worded your OP, because to me it really speaks volumes as to what is wrong with today's society.
We all chase these gigantic dreams, big house, fast expensive cars, great families, always wanting more and more as we progress into this life.
What is ironic is this is exactly the way we are indoctrinated by our three biggest ruling powers. Governments, corporations and of course the church. They all say one thing, "that to be happy you must have....." Feel free to put in whatever it is you see fit at the end. The idea is simple. The more you want, the more you spend, the more you spend, the richer they get. Problem is, on the other side of that corporate sword is the fact that everything you want for or lust after keeps people in business, keeps people in jobs, and generally keeps the world turning along. It is a very sad merry-go-round to bear witness to, but sadly is the nature of modern society.

For me, I stopped pursuing the grandiose dreams long ago, when I had a realisation. At certain points in my life, I was happy, yet had nothing or very little in the way of possessions. From there, it became a case of "being happy because," rather than "I will be happy when I get this, or have that."

I think people are so restless and unhappy here in the 21st century because we tend to get everything we want pretty much right away. There is no saving for it, there is no working for it, if you want something these days just go to the bank and they will lend you as much as you want, whether you can afford it or not. In a sense it has taken the challenge out of life. If you don't get your dream job, sue the guy that overlooked you, call him biased or racist, or whatever, and he will give in and give you your dues. Have your dream house? Sure. Can't realistically afford it? We'll worry about that later. Right there is why people are losing their way. Because there is nothing left to fight for, nothing left to work towards. As a result, people are unfulfillled.

As far as ATS goes, in most cases I see many people here who are able to step back from what they are spoon fed by the world's powers, and go, "Hang on a sec. I can see this doesn't add up. There are too many holes in this to be right." People know there is something wrong. Yet in the same capacity, they know that attempting to change the world will most likely get them locked up, laughed at, or worse. So we all come here, and get the nodding approvals we seek by speaking to others of a like mind, who, like us, know something isn't right. That we aren't the only ones seeing the problem.

Originally posted by TiM3LoRd
TITLE SHOULD READ

***If the pursuit of happiness comes from external things, what happens when you run out of things to pursue?***

Not going to happen.

"New" things are regularly selected to be introduced to the public to keep them productive. If TPTB run out of carrots to wave in front of the donkey, it will stop pulling the cart.

reply to post by TiM3LoRd


we can't blame the physical world regarding this. the physical world is here for all of us to enjoy.

the problem is how we use what we have to define who we believe we are with it. you are what you have. you are your family. you are your house. you are your body. you are your job. you are your money. you are your title. you are your college degree. you are your beauty. we identify with the physical world. we believe it is who we are. as a result in a sort of delusional way we believe that having more of it will result in the wholeness and completeness and balance that we are all searching for.

this pattern keeps us in a wheel where we are never enough and we believe that by having more we will be enough. we do not realize we are looking in the wrong place for all of these things and by doing this we are really just spinning our wheels accumulating more and more not ever able to find that which we are looking for.

this is the ego. everything for most of us right now is the ego. break the ego down and this stops. we stop defining who we believe we are with what we have. we stop wanting to have more and more and more. and most importantly we actually begin to truly enjoy who we truly are and begin to truly enjoy the physical world and truly enjoy life.

there is a tangible impact that all of this has to all of us and we are not able to see it. and none of it is good.. or desirable when compared to what exists beyond the illusion that says that we are what we have.

Great question S&F

Ive thought about this alot, I still dont have an answer but synchronicity made a friend take me to her church one Sunday when the priest was reading from the book of Solomon Ecclesiastes.
Im not in anyway religious but it really struck a chord with me and I reckon its worth a look for anyone who ponders the question you asked

Ecclesiates

so what are you doing about it?!!!
your in sales? then your perpetuating it,no? you could lead by example!
my wants are few,and my needs are basic.
i want love and respect from my family,and for them to understand why i live the way i do.
its a hard road to travel living this life especially when you have 2 young sons who want what the other kids have.
but me and my ex wife have taught them they have to earn their own way. they understand that the latest video game isn't more important than a healthy meal.
i don't watch tv, onlt get 3 channels anyway! dont have a blackberry,or an ipod. i make it a point not to get brainwashed by the media. i have my computer i use to learn things,maybe get some music i enjoy,and of coarse visiting ATS! my clothes are practical,and affordable.i dont read newspapers,or watch news on tv. its all lies anyway!
i have web sites that give me real news. i read books for entertainment,or i play music on one of my various instruments.i don't drive anymore,i ride my bicycle,or walk.
it is possible to live without all the 'trappings' that they tell you that you need to be happy!
me and my girl can sit in front of the fireplace for hours just talking,without a radio,tv,or either a computer on.
me and my kids go for long walks without them telling me they want to play a video game!
i teach them about hunting,trapping,nature and gardening. they love it! if the shtf,at least i know we will be able to survive,while all the shiny people will be running around like a chicken with their head cut off!
and all the little fat kids that play video games and eat junk food all day will be crying cause they have nothing to do,and don't know how to do anything cause mom & dad didn't teach them and the x-box was a good baby sitter!!!
you do have the power,enforce it!
peace

reply to post by TiM3LoRd


"Things" have never made me happy. sure, you condition yourself to think they will, to desire them, but once you have them you aren't happy. In fact, the more possessions I have, the more tied down to them I become. I'm a slave to my possessions.

I've been the victim of several home invasions, thankfully when I wasn't home. So I know too well the feeling to anxiety wondering "is my house on fire right now?" "Is someone stealing my guitars right now?"

That's far from happy.

People, interacting with people, makes me happy. That's why I spend an enormous part of my life on forums and sites just like this, interacting with people.

Material possessions are fleeting. When you are on your deathbed, waiting for the end, are you thinking of all the crap you own? I won't be, I'll be reflecting on the lives I've touched.

To answer the original question:

You lose the game.

we live in a material world, not a spiritual one. You need money to live, eat, whatever. Praying to god and self does not aquire what is needed to live and survive. I need 20 million + dollars to obtain my happiness. not prayers or wishfull thinking. I do believe we are co-creators in all this and to obtain my goal of 20 million + dollars would grant me the freedom from financial worries to pursue spiritual interests and even travel the globe. I don't think my wants or needs are wrong. I have family responsibilities that require money to fulfill ie mortage bills gas etc... until this world moves away from economic corporate slavery my needs and wants are the same.
so I would rather be a rich slave than a poor spiritualist.................

reply to post by Okandetre


I would say the opposite, you win.
No 'thing' will ever make you happy. Each 'thing' you desire makes you unhappy until the desire is achieved, then there is a short feeling of relief as there is no desire for a brief time. Then it is desire again (unfullfilment/lack) until the desire is achieved and on we go.

When it is realized that desire is the pain of lack, we realize that 'things' don't complete us the way we believed or hoped they would.
Wanting is caused by the feeling of lack.
When you realize that you are whole and complete without any 'thing', you will be free.

reply to post by gaurdian2012


But wouldn't you rather be happy than rich and unhappy?
Money is seen to be the buyer of happiness. But what if happiness is the ulimate goal.
Do you think rich people are happy?

If you 'need' a certain amount of money to make you happy, then the chances are you will never be happy. Are you happy about that?
Surely happiness is felt, it is not a 'thing' to get.

The answer is that the pursuit of happiness comes from within oneself, not his/her surroundings.

Originally posted by IkNOwSTuff
Great question S&F

Ive thought about this alot, I still dont have an answer but synchronicity made a friend take me to her church one Sunday when the priest was reading from the book of Solomon Ecclesiastes.
Im not in anyway religious but it really struck a chord with me and I reckon its worth a look for anyone who ponders the question you asked

Ecclesiates

Thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out.

Originally posted by reficul
so what are you doing about it?!!!
your in sales? then your perpetuating it,no? you could lead by example!

my wants are few,and my needs are basic.
i want love and respect from my family,and for them to understand why i live the way i do.
its a hard road to travel living this life especially when you have 2 young sons who want what the other kids have.
but me and my ex wife have taught them they have to earn their own way. they understand that the latest video game isn't more important than a healthy meal.
i don't watch tv, onlt get 3 channels anyway! dont have a blackberry,or an ipod. i make it a point not to get brainwashed by the media. i have my computer i use to learn things,maybe get some music i enjoy,and of coarse visiting ATS! my clothes are practical,and affordable.i dont read newspapers,or watch news on tv. its all lies anyway!
i have web sites that give me real news. i read books for entertainment,or i play music on one of my various instruments.i don't drive anymore,i ride my bicycle,or walk.
it is possible to live without all the 'trappings' that they tell you that you need to be happy!
me and my girl can sit in front of the fireplace for hours just talking,without a radio,tv,or either a computer on.
me and my kids go for long walks without them telling me they want to play a video game!
i teach them about hunting,trapping,nature and gardening. they love it! if the shtf,at least i know we will be able to survive,while all the shiny people will be running around like a chicken with their head cut off!
and all the little fat kids that play video games and eat junk food all day will be crying cause they have nothing to do,and don't know how to do anything cause mom & dad didn't teach them and the x-box was a good baby sitter!!!
you do have the power,enforce it!
peace

I'm helping out where I can. But I am still dependent of the system for survival unfortunately as are most of us.

I don't think anyone actually believes that external things alone will bring you happiness, so it is really a moot question.

I do think being financially secure gives you one less thing to worry about, which can add to one's happiness. I also think having a multitude of external possesions does nothing to keep you from being happy.

Look no further than most of your famous Hollywood Stars.

Here you have a group of people that make more money doing one movie than most of us will make in a entire lifetime.

They don't have to worry about making the mortgage payment, food on the table, medicine and or medical care, here in America, the more money you have the better medical care you have. I've worked at city hospitals and I am fortunate enough to have really good insurance and can go to a really nice, new, state of the art medical center.

For many of these "stars" to die before 70-80 is unbelievable, I have now out lived, many people that I thought would live way longer then me because they had mega money and thus could afford the best medical care.

The average person has to work and work hard just treading water, but most humans seem to thrive and are at their best struggling.

Happiness does not, in my opinion, my own experience, come from "things" as much as from giving of yourself.

I look down right now at two dogs laying at my feet. Both, if not for us, would have ended up gassed and in a landfill.

Working at a homeless shelter two days a month, for me, is rewarding.

Stuff (again, my own opinion) doesn't give you happiness - love, being kind, generous and making the world a little bit better for you having been here this short time we are alotted is what makes me, at least happy.

Looking recently at Michael Jackson, my God, this man was one heck of a genius, talented beyond belief and like Elvis Presley ended up dead at 50 - with all that money and fame, both could have afforded the best medical care but instead self-medicated themselves.

Brittany Murphy, Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Marilyn Monroe, the list goes on and on, beautiful, talented people - God, to wake up and pad into the bathroom and look into a mirror and see Whitney Houston's face looking back at me, compared to my old, saggy, baggy, so so face.............talented, beautiful, rich beyond having to worry about money and look how they ended up.

I recently read a book, Singing Songs by Meg Tilly - a very bright woman. She made some money, was a beautiful, talented actress but left Hollywood, got married, had children I think somewhere up in Canada and lived a normal life..............that's the key to happiness, not the glitzy, party hardy, drinking, drugs, bed hopping - the majority of people that do that aren't happy, look at how many have killed themselves.

I guess I will never be able to answer your question really because we, my husband of 39 years and I have struggled the entire time we have been together, money wise.

If I had had say 20 million dollars in my youth, I would have probably been foolish.

Now, I would pay off my mortgage, remodel my home and town home (my two sons live in the town home and they are painting it and doing basic repair on it.

But, at 59, I have no desire to travel, I can just flip on the Travel Channel and not suffer the indignity of being scanned naked, or groped by strangers (I like my privacy and space).

I believe it is the Buddhists that have a saying, you don't really own your "stuff" your "stuff" owns you.

If I had enough money to have anything I wanted, I would buy a huge piece of property and have a homeless shelter and a animal sanctuary built and maintained by some really morally sound people, living there, making sure things were run correctly.

Kids, that needed a stable home life. Animals that nobody wanted.

Again, I have found, I have a couple things that are "valuable" money wise and looking at them, touching them is nice but they don't bring me the happiness of helping someone less fortunate then me out, with no "agenda".

"Stuff", "parties, drugs, sex, rock n' roll, clothes, cars, houses, vacations, (I like my house and neighborhood, don't need cruises or going to exotic places).

What happens when you run out of stuff to pursue?

Ask all the many famous people who have died before their time that had tons of money.................most died having to self medicate, numb themselves.

Watched a Marilyn Manson interview, very intelligent man, but he looks quite sad - lost really and this guy is worth big bucks, he could and probably has everything "money" can buy, but again, to me anyway, he doesn't look happy.

When you run out of stuff to pursue, give.

Give back to your fellow man, kindness, feed the starving, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, a simple smile or kind word to someone that is down....................these are things that make us feel whole and good, not "more stuff".

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ~Mark Twain

You clearly demonstrate with many examples why we still reside within the animal brain.

Let us teach everyone a mental skill with the same intensity and enthusiasm as is devoted to thousands of physical skills that are several steps beyond the natural abilities that we all have. Whether a football place kicker or an accomplished R&R guitarist, we definitely have the potential because all of these beyond-normal physical abilities must relie on the brain, to control the mental state and conditioning of the person doing the physical action. Rather than our typically using the brain as a tool to achieve some physical goal, let us use the brain for its most serious purpose, exploring itself and the universe. (I know. Those last few words sound like a crock full to many of you.)

I want to see meditation, deep meditation, taught with augmented (electronic) means made available to all starting at a very young age. It is a way to look at the self and world from a far different perspective than we normally do. Unfortunately, most people in the West are so locked into physical gratification from food, to toys and to mind-numbing entertainment that they cannot even conceive of a mental state where their minds become quiet and their egos become unimportant.

It would be nice to say that deep meditation connecting to the Oneness is a "end all be all" answer to all of humanities problems with itself. 'Not the case. It is long known from many areas of those that spend their lives meditation that the physical, everyday world is always there. But meditation is the salve that can keep that infection under control. There is a universal, truthful inside joke among Zen schooling that even with meditation to the highest degree, there is always "carry water, chop wood." So even a life that principally hinges around meditation as with the Zen masters, the physical world is still there and must be dealt with. Unfortunately, many of us don't deal with it very well yet we believe without question that state of being is all there is.

I have suggested learning to meditation to many folks over the decades as a way to ease their dependency on the physical aspects of their daily lives. I almost always hear the same response: "Oh, I can't do that. I don't have the mind for it. Besides, I don't have the time for it."

Many of those folks also think that there must be a religion connected to meditation. Nothing could be further from the truth. As with conventional religions that have created a God or semblence thereof and an attendent heirarcy to carry it, so too many meditation-based practices have heros if not gods to worship. Here also, Zen is a perfect example. Such need not be the case. Meditation is spiritual san dieties. It provides a new understanding of you as a person and your relationship to the all, but there need not be a Creator--teacher, yes, perhaps-- standing there providing you with blessings and demanding a tithe. Meditation is merely making a connection of yourself to to everything else. it is a way to escape the seemingly hopelessness if not meaninglyness of life.