Singlish | 
happiness from what you don't have
Recently there has been this discussion about happiness and the comparison with Bhutan (the country that started Gross National Happiness) in the parliament. Then a Bhutanese wrote in reaction to the example being brought up.
I've never been to Bhutan. I don't know much about that country, so to compare their happiness with ours is like comparing between the Centigrade scale with the Fahrenheit scale.
Are we happy? *shrug*. I guess instead of looking at it from "we are happy because we have...", why not look at it as "we are happy because we don't have..." Does strong economy make us happier? Maybe. Does infrastructure make us happier? Perhaps. Does technology make us happier? Doubtful. On the MRT, I see roughly 2/3 of the passengers are constantly staring at their screens, big or small. Couples going out, each looking at his/her individual screen. Friends gathering at the cafe, each checking updates from the smartphone. Does it make you happier if you have collected all the coins from the what farming games? Does it bring you satisfaction by clearing 3 jewels in a row? How about telling the world you've checked in to places?
I know at this moment I am looking at the screen in my bedroom. I don't do that every single second when I'm in my room with my eyes open. I've spent time and thoughts decorating my room, choosing my favourite lights, arranging the furnitures. So why let the dark computer screen steal the whole show? I glance around my room, enjoying the slowness and idleness, and make sure that it is also my soul and not only my shell that lives here.
I can go on talking about the happy times I had pumping water from the well in rural China. Turning on the tap?
What you have, may not always bring you happiness.
I've never been to Bhutan. I don't know much about that country, so to compare their happiness with ours is like comparing between the Centigrade scale with the Fahrenheit scale.
Are we happy? *shrug*. I guess instead of looking at it from "we are happy because we have...", why not look at it as "we are happy because we don't have..." Does strong economy make us happier? Maybe. Does infrastructure make us happier? Perhaps. Does technology make us happier? Doubtful. On the MRT, I see roughly 2/3 of the passengers are constantly staring at their screens, big or small. Couples going out, each looking at his/her individual screen. Friends gathering at the cafe, each checking updates from the smartphone. Does it make you happier if you have collected all the coins from the what farming games? Does it bring you satisfaction by clearing 3 jewels in a row? How about telling the world you've checked in to places?
I know at this moment I am looking at the screen in my bedroom. I don't do that every single second when I'm in my room with my eyes open. I've spent time and thoughts decorating my room, choosing my favourite lights, arranging the furnitures. So why let the dark computer screen steal the whole show? I glance around my room, enjoying the slowness and idleness, and make sure that it is also my soul and not only my shell that lives here.
I can go on talking about the happy times I had pumping water from the well in rural China. Turning on the tap?
What you have, may not always bring you happiness.
Labels: observations
Technology acts as a double edge sword, it ease the daily communication and brings people around the world closer and it too push people apart.
No doubt about that.
But ultimately, aren't people the ones who are able to decide what it can or cannot do, since it's just a tool?
So if it allows users to derive a little joy, through communication with their love ones, is it still bad?
That happiness, is the simple joy that technology allow them to have. Probably different from your simplicity of life moto but without it existing, would you have know what in life brings you happiness and joy?
What you don't have or yet to experience, can't teach you happiness. But what you had experienced, shows you a path to finding it.
Are people willing to see that grey point, between the black and white? If so, there probably lies the answer.