Money and Happiness pt.1

The homework question for my Science of Happiness class was this today, "The famous BEATLES lyric "I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love" relates to this question about money and happiness. Science suggests that the relationship between them, money and happiness, is fairly limited--it can help up to a certain level, but then its effects taper off. What do you think is going on? Why do you think people continue to pursue greater and greater stockpiles of money, despite its diminishing contribution to happiness?"
I didn't answer it directly, but I wrote some words that I felt needed to be shared. It is a raw writing, and I'm not going to refine it. I have too much other writings I'm doing, but the thoughts mattered to me, and I felt a burden lifted from my chest as I wrote them. Happiness is something I have struggled with for many years, but in the end I have found joy, and it isn't from money. Money certainly helps, and is necessary to exist, but happiness begins beyond that. Finding beauty in the small moments is where I find happiness. The sunset always brings me joy. A river always gives me piece. A beautiful woman's smile always brightens my day. And I give myself the capacity to still have child like adoration for those moments as they happen. And that is where I have found the most happiness, is in giving myself the space to be happy in all moments. Even the "dark" ones. Finding the lesson in darkness helps me be grateful, but if I can't find a lesson, sometimes the rain just feels good. Anyway, here is my direct response to this question. (Oh yeah, and everyone should take this FREE class. If you want to, contact me)

This is an issue that hits extremely close to home for me. I've been raised in all different socio-economic classes during the course of my life. My parents were middle class, until they divorced. My step dad, and his family, are definitely high class. When I journeyed away from home, I became working class, with no support. After my divorce, I fell the farthest I've ever fallen, even winding up being working homeless. Having wandered across a variety of different classes, and attaining happiness at each level, I have learned a lot about genuine joy. Genuine joy comes from practical happiness, and realistic happiness. Each different class has a their own, general, approach to happiness. My successful step dad insists my happiness (and his acceptance for me) comes from production. What have I produced in my life? Where are my objects? Where are my symbols of success at the family dinner? He doesn't see the joy I've created in my life from the experiences I've had, the lessons I've learned; he doesn't understand my gratitude for the fires that forged me. His view doesn't permit for an intrinsic happiness. And that's okay. My Father worries about my happiness because I've struggled with depression my whole life. He knows how dark and depressed I can get, and he worries that my baseline happiness is low. I haven't been eloquent enough with my words, and he hasn't been open enough to hearing them, to hear what happiness means to me. Everyday I wake up, I hate that I was asleep. Sleep is hard for me. I am an empath, and the world is in a lot of pain. Some nights are hard, I am concerned about the state of this world. Sometimes, this is overwhelming, and I become depressed under the weight of my thoughts. Just as an body builder would during an intense workout. But if I didn't wake up every morning, feeling something was wrong, I would be less inclined to care. Yet, this doesn't mean that I'm not happy. Darkness does not diminish light. Anyway, that was a lot of roundabout words to answering a question, that I haven't really answered yet. They just kind of fell out of me, and I'm not going back to edit, so if it feels a little raw. That's why. Living in all these varying degrees of economic class I have seen the methods that people take to happiness. A lot of rich people i know, found wealth, and then in finding wealth, did not find happiness. A lot of poor people I know, are happier that I've ever seen a furrowed brow wealthy person. But every where, people are always trying to escape to happiness. People chase ideas of happiness. People chase notions of being happy, without ever feeling joy in the moment. There is a wonderful cartoon I saw once of a guy sitting on a park bench with a thought cloud about his head that said, "I want to be happy." A monk walks up and takes out the "I want to be" part, and walks away. For so many people happiness is a place, a destination, a goal, a lifestyle, a thing, a mystery, an object, a promotion, a job, a person, a memory, an economic status, an experience....... Or maybe happiness just is.

3 Good Things

m normally an extremely positive person. I can, more often than not, find the silver lining and commit to it. However, for my Science of Happiness class, one of my daily homework assignments is called 3 Good Things. I am to write about 3 good things that happened to me today, and why they made me happy. Soooo... I figured I would share them on Facebook everyday, hoping that maybe some of you would also share your happy stories, so that we can spread more positivity. My 3 Good Things today (among many others...) were:
1) Hayabusa and Samius. That doesn't need much explanation. They are two of the most wonderful creatures on the planet. 
2) I got to make and save money today! This is huge for me, my budget was terrible the last couple years. And correcting that is a big deal to me. Financial security and freedom from debts is going to be a huge milestone for me. 
3) I got tons of work done in some amazing classes, for those of you that follow my blog I'm working on my next articles for my Journalism class soon. The reason why these are exciting for me is because, well shit, I'm just excited. My classes are incredible and I'm honing skills I already have to achieve dreams I have always had, but I didn't necessarily see how to achieve. Also self discipline is something that I've wanted to train, so having obstacles to overcome (homework/assignments) is good practice. It helps that I am excited about my classes..... Ohhh, and sunsets...

Story Pitch

The assignment was a mock reporter tip from a "neighbor" and we had to read some articles and create a "pitch" to bring to the producers:

Children with Broken Hearts. We live in a world of hardship, no one ever said life is fair. My friend is a psychiatrist for foster care kids. He has been in the profession for 30+ years, and this morning he overwhelmed me with pathos. He said, “I cannot count the number of times I have seen children on multiple medications who are really just suffering from a broken heart. And the treatment for a broken heart is not another medication.”
So I started researching source. I gathered hard data, found willing characters on all ends of the spectrum (professionals, kids in foster care, law makers, parents of foster care children) and have found a problem ripe for being brought into the light. All the elements are there, all it needs right now is for a group of solutions journalists to fit the pieces together to cause the discourse to make this happen. It seems the state is lacking in its reactions to this epidemic, and bringing the eye of the public onto these policies will be good motivators for the politicians to clean up this issue. The legislation is already there to support the kids, but the enforcement seems to be lackadaisical. This is a prime subject to report upon. Especially since it isn’t a problem limited to only California, or so research shows.

Cheeseburgers...

What solution based journalism, and why is it important?

Cheeseburgers....

Okay, now that I have your attention... What is solution-based journalism? Nowadays, we have many news media outlets. There are so many people informing you of the current events of the world, and everyone wants their rally cry heard. It's not Harry Potter's world, but it sure does seem that the newspapers are alive.  Every article's words seem to scream at you from the page. Of course, being a concerned citizen, I want to learn about the world I live in. But more than that, I don't just want to read about the problems of the world... I also want some hope. Hope is the tiniest morsel of human emotion, but like the Everstar; sometimes it is the only light in the darkness, especially when all other lights go out. Solution-based journalism is one answer to this problem. Not only does it inform the public of current events, but through meticulous research and interviews with experts, the article should provide some form of solution to the issue at hand. Creating a discourse is invaluable to journalism, but providing a light at the end of the tunnel might be just as crucial.
Now let me explain why this is important...
You're stuck in an elevator. It's so hot you can feel your skin separate from your bones. It's muggy. You didn't plan on going to a sauna today. Definitely should have worn shorts. You can feel your pants stick to your leg like a superhero costume. Bad time to think about going to the gym. It just sounds hot. The other people are sweating too, and it smells akin to what the trash compactor must have smelled like in Star Wars. If you see a snake monster, that's it.. Game over. An astute observer keeps pointing out that the elevator seems to be stuck in between floors, and that the temperature is rising. If only there was still such a thing as elevator music. But then it might feel even more like a merry go round. Finally, one person stands up after having observed the elevator and notices an escape hatch on the roof disguised as a ceiling panel. The hatch isn't even open yet, but it is almost as if the elevator itself took a fresh breath. Even your soaked t-shirt instantly feels lighter.
Next the hatch opens, and the victims of the situation help raise each other up, now that there is hope. Next you're on someone's shoulders and stepping out of the elevator is like breaking the surface water of a hot tub on a cold winter night. The air rushes the sweat from your body like evac choppers during 'Nam. Not only do the problems need to be brought out into the light, but so do solutions. Solutions, like shadows at midnight, can be difficult to find, sometimes all it takes is someone to shine a little light on them.