Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, in Alan Watts’s groundbreaking third book (originally published in 1940), he offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude that Watts calls the “way of acceptance.” Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Western mysticism, and analytic psychology, Watts demonstrates that happiness comes from accepting both the outer world around us and the inner world inside us — the unconscious mind, with its irrational desires, lurking beyond the awareness of the ego. Although written early in his career, The Meaning of Happiness displays the hallmarks of his mature style: the crystal-clear writing, the homespun analogies, the dry wit, and the breadth of knowledge that made Alan Watts one of the most influential philosophers of his generation. amazonWednesday, December 26, 2018
Alan Watts on accepting "life as a whole"
Deep down, most people think that happiness comes from having or doing something. Here, in Alan Watts’s groundbreaking third book (originally published in 1940), he offers a more challenging thesis: authentic happiness comes from embracing life as a whole in all its contradictions and paradoxes, an attitude that Watts calls the “way of acceptance.” Drawing on Eastern philosophy, Western mysticism, and analytic psychology, Watts demonstrates that happiness comes from accepting both the outer world around us and the inner world inside us — the unconscious mind, with its irrational desires, lurking beyond the awareness of the ego. Although written early in his career, The Meaning of Happiness displays the hallmarks of his mature style: the crystal-clear writing, the homespun analogies, the dry wit, and the breadth of knowledge that made Alan Watts one of the most influential philosophers of his generation. amazon
Happy Fins
FINLAND DISPATCH
It’s Cold, Dark and Lacks Parking. But Is This Finnish Town the World’s Happiest?
A choir rehearsing at the Adult Education Center in Kauniainen, Finland.Lena Mucha for The New York Times
KAUNIAINEN, Finland — Jan Mattlin was having what counts as a bad day in Kauniainen.
He had driven to the town’s train station and found nowhere to park. Mildly piqued, he called the local newspaper to suggest a small article about the lack of parking spots.
To Mr. Mattlin’s surprise, the editor put the story on the front page.
“We have very few problems here,” recalled Mr. Mattlin, a partner at a private equity firm. “Maybe they didn’t have any other news available.”
Such is the charmed life in Kauniainen (pronounced: COW-nee-AY-nen), a small and wealthy Finnish town that can lay claim to being the happiest place on the planet...
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Dewey
 | Maria Popova (@brainpicker) |
|
“To find out what one is fitted to do and to secure an opportunity to do it is the key to happiness.”
John Dewey on how to find your calling and the key to a fulfilling vocation: brainpickings.org/2015/10/20/ | |
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