Remember The Pursuit of Happiness
Happiness Is A Choice
By Veronica Hay
"There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and after that,to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second." ~ LoganPearsall Smith
I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who winthe lottery are happy for about 3 weeks. Yes! Only 3 weeks, and then they goback to their previous state of being, before they won the money. This reallydid surprise me. I thought that they would have been happy about something soamazing as that for much longer than 3 weeks.
Did you know that 90% of all people who win the lottery are broke within one year, and that most of those wish they had never won it in the first place?
I think the reason for this is, that anytime we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves, like winning the lottery, or getting a new car or house, it never works. The resulting feelings of euphoria are often only fleeting. We cannot sustain them for very long. Perhaps, in some way, that is a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is available to us at any moment. True happiness has very little to do with what is happening on the outside, it is an inside job. Happiness is a choice.It is a state of BEING.
We can make the decision to BE happy for one day, when we wake up in the morning, every morning. We can find something that brings us great pleasure,like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and listening to the birds sing, or watching the dog or cat play, and just savoring the moment. Happiness is always available to us. It is our natural state and we need only allow it in. At any moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and remember who we really are, and why we came here, and that truly is to experience joy and the aliveness of being.
"Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond ourgrasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
So, dear heart, today, no matter what is going on in your own life, take a few moments to breathe deeply and just decide to BE happy, whatever that means to you.
在讨论文章主题之前，先谈谈英语文章的记忆。
1，说实话，我也没想出什么特别好的方法来记忆一篇英文文章，如上这篇，我觉得读懂挺容易，但要熟记挺不易
2，要熟记到字字不差挺费时间与心力，所以一定要有明确的目标，精挑细选，确保时间上的收益，这方面我选中了《新概念英语》这一套教材
3，真要记忆一篇文章，以下六步流程：理分化记回复（谐音为：离婚滑稽回复）可以让这个任务更具操作性；
1）理解文章，首先理解字词句段的含义
2）分析结构，分析文章与段落的结构
3）化简还原，将同处一块的段落化简为句子，句子化简为词汇
4）记忆词汇，利用形象化，编故事，做类比，放入记忆宫殿等多种办法
5）回想复原，从词复原为句子，句子复原为段落。这一步考校着对句式的熟
悉，对文章表达逻辑的梳理与理解
6）复习巩固，直到熟极而流的程度
下面讨论一下文章的主题，对于幸福的探讨：
我翻看了我手头能找到的关于幸福的论述。我知道哈佛有专门开设的幸福心理学，讲授者还专门写了一本论述如何更幸福的书：
我读过这本书，也受到了许多启发，现在仍然记忆深刻的道理仅说三个；
1，要想幸福，首先允许自己能够不幸福，承认自己的有限性
2，某些事物会让人更幸福，不嫌多：
阳光，友谊，亲密关系......
某些事物对幸福的促进会存在边际效用递减的现象：
金钱，名气，生理需求.......
3.呼吸冥想练习，能提高我们对当下的觉知，让我们对幸福更敏感
网上搜到幸福课的文字版笔记，老师给的建议兹录如下：
NO.1遵从你内心的热情
选择做对你有意义并且能让你快乐的事情，不要只是为了轻松而选择，或选择只是别人认为你应该做的事。
NO.2 学会失败
成功没有快捷方式，历史上有成就的人，总是敢于行动，也会经常失败。 不要让对失败的恐惧，绊住你尝试新事物的脚步。
NO.3 接受自己全然为人
失望，烦乱，悲伤是人性的一部分，接纳这些，把它们当成自然之事，然后问如何让自己感觉好一些
NO.4 有规律地锻炼
每周三次，每次三十分钟
NO.5 充足的睡眠
七到九个小时
NO.6 慷慨
赠人玫瑰，手有余香
NO.7 勇敢
勇敢不是不恐惧，而是即使恐惧，也能做正确的事
NO.8 表达感激
不要把家人，朋友，健康，教育当作理所当然，他们都是回味无穷的礼物
但，我对于幸福更深刻的认识，觉得叔本华表达更贴切：
1，我们的幸福来自于三个方面：
我们的人格或者说我们是谁；
我们有什么；
别人怎样看我们。
影响依次递减，但改变的难易程度则是第一个最难，后两个相对较容易。
2，我们无法自由的选择我们的欲望，什么让我们快乐被许多因素所限定
3，当我们无法实现自己的欲望的时候，我们痛苦；当我们实现欲望之后，只有短暂的快乐，然后是深深的无聊。人生在痛苦与无聊中摆动
还有一些我认为对幸福认识很深刻的想法：
1，幸福是追求有意义的事业的副产品，在追求中产生的心流，在愿望达成时的自豪，以及能够享用自己达成的目标的智慧
2，幸福与伦理道德相互作用，人们遵循内化于心的伦理道德规范，从中获得意义与快乐；伦理道德的演化方向是尽可能满足越来越多人的幸福
3，幸福不只是肉体的快乐，有时肉体的痛苦甚至生命的牺牲能让人觉得幸福，或者说幸福常常不是最高序列的追求。基因追求的是繁衍与传播，公司追求的是价值与利润，他人需要的是服务与产品，幸福要由自己为自己负责，吊诡的是越追求幸福反而常常离幸福越远，而担起生命责任的重担，避免生命不可承受之轻，反而是获取幸福之道
4.与幸福竞争的价值追求有许多，譬如权力，公平，正义，尊重，智慧，真理，自由，真相，生存，体验，铭记，复仇......想起了《西部世界》里美丽的女主角最初那虚幻的幸福！掩盖真相，自我欺骗的幸福至少不是我想要的！女主角知道真相后，也不会再沉浸于积极乐观，幸福快乐。绝望之于虚妄，恰是希望！
还有《黑镜》中，不追求无意义的永生，希望不忘记痛苦，铭记生命经历的女主，忘记痛苦，有时意味着背叛！
最后，祝各位 Get what you want; and after that,to enjoy it.