Jolt Country

I'm trying to finish really setting up my apartment for my hobbies and living in a basic sense. So far I have -

*Cut down on the amount of stuff I own to save space and codify my priorities.
*Bought a stupidly overpriced variable weight set and adjustable weight bench.
*Re-arranged the furniture to allow room for my bicycle trainer
*Bought a decently sized / adjustable standing desk.
*Paired down a few misc. positions because of lack of room.

Now I have a few other projects left:

*How to sort / deal with laundry.
*Finding a place to store the three bikes I have in the house (with obviously limited space.)
*Keep my desk clean for more than five minutes.
*How to break it to HapticAnimal that her excess pottery needs to go.

I'll keep a log of everything I do here, probably starting with the bike stand / storage.

Does the happiness come from the lack of stuff, or the getting rid of stuff? Or is there any happiness?

Happiness doesn't come from more or less stuff guys, Happiness is a..let's say motor... <i>WITHIN YOU</i>.

That seems like a post that someone spent years waiting to make. DONT LEAVE

Honestly, there is no happiness here, its just a hobby - something to think about, obsess over a little bit and then feel satisfied after the act. It is exactly the same as collecting Star Wars figurines, arcade cabinets or Steam games: the act turns a switch in the brain of a job well done, there is promise of a vague sense of completeness and it feeds into our personality.

"No happiness, just a hobby, just like the stuff you guys do."

I don't have the energy in my life to get into why that's wrong but that's Tdarcosian.

Two month timeout for that post.

RetroRomper wrote:Honestly, there is no happiness here, its just a hobby - something to think about, obsess over a little bit and then feel satisfied after the act. It is exactly the same as collecting Star Wars figurines, arcade cabinets or Steam games: the act turns a switch in the brain of a job well done, there is promise of a vague sense of completeness and it feeds into our personality.

I am sorry that you spend so much time on actions that don't bring you happiness. My Star Wars collection (which you seem to be really obsessed with) brings me great pleasure. If moving or collecting or displaying them became such a burden, I would get rid of them tomorrow. And I don't think buying things and getting rid of them is the same as collecting arcade games at all, unless getting rid of furniture allows you to put in your initials and get a high score or something.

Is happiness the absence of one or several or all negative feelings/emotions (sadness, anger, envy, hate, insanity) or can one continue to be generally happy in spite of these negative spells?

Is happiness or unhappiness habit forming? Can one get into the habit of being happy and thus manage to remain happy more often than not while those who've fallen into the bad habit of being unhappy find it nearly impossible to ever find happiness in anything?

Is happiness purely physical, purely mental, or a monistic combination of both? Or a Cartesian dualistic combination of both? Or something transcending both in some mystical sense?

Mystery Member wrote:Is happiness the absence of one or several or all negative feelings/emotions (sadness, anger, envy, hate, insanity) or can one continue to be generally happy in spite of these negative spells?

Is happiness or unhappiness habit forming? Can one get into the habit of being happy and thus manage to remain happy more often than not while those who've fallen into the bad habit of being unhappy find it nearly impossible to ever find happiness in anything?

Is happiness purely physical, purely mental, or a monistic combination of both? Or a Cartesian dualistic combination of both? Or something transcending both in some mystical sense?

Umm, I'll handle the metaphysics around here, THANK you very much. Also, Retro, calling yourself "Mystery Member" doesn't keep people from being irritated with you.

“Ask yourself if you’re happy, and you cease to be so,”
~ Happiness: A History by Darrin McMahon, PhD

Someone once said happiness is joy without contradiction.