“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 be striving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are. Happiness and victory and fulfillment are nice little things that also happen to us, but they don’t teach us much. Everyone says we grow through pain and then as soon as they experience pain they say “Quick! Move on! Cheer up!” I’d like just for a year to have a moratorium on the word “happiness” and to replace it with the word “wholeness”. Ask yourself “is this contributing to my wholeness?” and if you’re having a bad day, it is.”

– Hugh Mackay

Spot on.

I’m rarely upset but I’m entirely fine with the state we call sadness. Friends have often raised an eyebrow at my philosophy but the above quote summarizes it really well: happiness isn’t actually my goal. My goal is contentedness, wholeness. Anyway, I’ve touched on this before. Twice. So I won’t get into it again.

In related news I bought Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance yesterday and so far it’s been really good.

The bird, above, is a photo I took a few years back and the flipping effect was probably one of the first tutorials I wrote for the then newly hatched Acrylo.

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