My thoughts have recently drifted towards wondering what makes me happy. It seems to me that happiness is a very temporary human condition. We become happy when we get a birthday gift, or when we receive a sum of money. This is of course a temporary condition, as once the moment has passed and the money is spent or the cake is eaten, we return to our normal dismal state. I contrast this with contentment. Contentment, it seems to me, has a longer life span. You can be contentedly full or contentedly married, or content in the wealth and wisdom that you have attained over a lifetime. The word contentment, has a much more inertia and longevity in a persons life. Happiness, in contrast, is more active and energetic.
There could perhaps be an entire field of science that we shall call Joyonetics. In Joyonetics, we would have laws, such as “People that are content, tend to stay content” and “Happiness is a temporary condition that is quickly eroded by the drudgeries of existence”. Perhaps this field of endeavor is even greater than a simple science and can be elevated to the level of a religion. In this new religion, we would have novices and masters. A novice would be the equivalent of a giggly schoolboy and a master would be more along the lines of Jerry Lewis.
Eh – maybe not.
