英语专业晨读美文-人生篇 5 The Paradox of Happiness

[00:02.89]The Paradox 1 of Happiness

[00:05.37]Do you recall a time—let's say

[00:09.33]when you were about 5 years old—

[00:10.81]what defined happiness back then?

[00:13.29]Was it getting a puppy for Christmas? Or maybe,

[00:17.29]you were a child of divorce,

[00:19.53]and all you wanted was for Mom and Dad

[00:21.09]to get back together again?

[00:22.44]Then as you got older, you were hoping

[00:24.38]that someone would ask you to the prom

[00:26.27]that would've made your day,

[00:28.17]maybe your life for the moment. During college,

[00:31.56]good grades made you happy, but it was short-lived.

[00:34.07]Because in the real world, you had to look for a job,

[00:36.77]and competition was stark 2.

[00:39.01]It's an employer's world you thought.

[00:41.80]But then, you got the perfect job—

[00:44.24]now you could be happy—or could you?

[00:47.43]Life requires more than just what we want.

[00:50.22]Inevitably, one must understand to truly find “happiness”,

[00:54.58]he must make his own happiness “happen”.

[00:57.32]Sounds a bit redundant 3, but truthfully,

[01:00.08]there is no set guidelines that will bring one happiness.

[01:03.02]There is no “magic wand” we can wave

[01:05.41]to bring joy into our lives.

[01:07.30]Human nature thrives on the thrill of the chase.

[01:10.33]We dream and we hope for the next big area—

[01:13.86]it is the grand adventure of living.

[01:16.13]We are hopeless creatures of comfort.

[01:18.53]We like having and accumulating things.

[01:21.68]Whether one admits to it or not, to a certain degree,

[01:24.90]we all try to “keep up with the Jones”.

[01:27.33]We work so we can pay our rents, mortgages,

[01:30.42]credit card debts, school loans, car payments...

[01:33.44]the list goes on and on. And at some point,

[01:37.30]we realize, that aside from having most of what we want,

[01:40.10]we still aren't happy. Now since we've learned to

[01:43.73]adapt to new standards which we've created for ourselves,

[01:46.46]we find that we have less time, less patience,

[01:49.93]less sleep, which equates 5 to more stress,

[01:52.50]more worry and more aggravation 6.

[01:54.71]So, is happiness honestly just comprised of “things”?

[01:58.85]Sometimes, we virtually read our lives for

[02:01.76]not only basic necessities, but for excessive items

[02:05.46]and services as well. We become so obsessed 7

[02:08.15]with finding happiness, that we lose sight of the fact

[02:11.95]that happiness is within—always.

[02:13.44]Certainly you've heard of individuals

[02:16.85]trying to “find themselves”,

[02:18.24]or “rediscover themselves”.

[02:20.12]The reason they are attempting these innovative 8 approaches

[02:22.91]is because they are seeking inner happiness.

[02:25.24]But the point has been missed:

[02:27.42]happiness is already there.

[02:29.35]Disappointments and tragedies in life will come and go,

[02:32.49]but happiness never leaves you.

[02:34.75]The human's capacity to be resilient to

[02:37.99]difficulties is unfathomable.

[02:39.75]We can lose our jobs, but be grateful for our spouses 9.

[02:43.97]We can lose our homes to nature,

[02:46.33]but be thankful to be alive.

[02:48.41]Happiness is a perception of each individual.

[02:51.53]We are instincively compelled to find fault in our lives.

[02:55.78]By human nature, we begin our “fault-finding” mission

[02:59.24]the moment we're capable of free-thinking.

[03:01.30]It is then, that we lose sense of self-worth

[03:03.91]and the bigger picture of vitality 10 altogether.

[03:06.71]Stuck in the patterns of the happiness paradox,

[03:10.01]we simply cannot find where our happiness has gone.

[03:13.13]It's not a matter of bargaining,

[03:15.42]it's not an issue of money or fame—

[03:17.72]instead,happiness is what you resolve to accept.

[03:21.11]If we live through optimistic hope;

[03:23.62]if we dare to dream; if we empower ourselves to fully 4 live;

[03:28.14]then we have regained 11 our sense of happiness.

[03:30.86]There is no in-between. There is no other replacement 12.

[03:34.71]We only have one physical life to live.

[03:37.70]We have no choice but to make the most of it.