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The nature of happiness
Barmymoo:
Hmm. I'm trying to think of things that have consistently made me happy over the last ten years and I'm coming up short of anything related to a purchase. Certain experiences which I guess I've technically bought have brought happiness (travel, concerts, plays, cookery classes) but although I have enjoyed the memory of those experiences since they happened I don't think it counts.
Tricky!
Zebediah:
I think we may spend more time discussing the nature of "item" than the nature of happiness. For example, does a marriage license count as an item? My wife and I had to pay a fee to get one, but does that count as a purchase?
How about an adoption fee for a dog? Does that count?
I'm not even going to argue about the hospital fees when our son was born, or our moving expenses when we moved to Massachusetts. Those aren't "items".
Barmymoo:
I can't define happiness to other people but I can identify myself experiencing it. For example I felt it today when I went on a walk and saw a sea of crocuses, when I stood and watched a dog boisterously spectating at an informal tennis game, and when I met a tailless cat who accompanied me on my stroll. None of those were purchases.
Metope:
If I'm going to define 'item' as something solid that is in my possession, and that I paid money for... My favourite handbag makes me feel very happy. I love organising my things, I love having things handy wherever I go (I always have my wallet, keys, sketchbook, iPod, phone, kindle and passport in it), and the size and the way the compartments and pockets are organised, good design makes me feel really satisfied. Plus, it's really pretty and I am a very aesthetically minded person.
That said, I get more pleasure out of things I experience rather than items I own.
Redball:
--- Quote from: Barmymoo on 07 Mar 2014, 14:56 ---Hmm. I'm trying to think of things that have consistently made me happy over the last ten years and I'm coming up short of anything related to a purchase. Certain experiences which I guess I've technically bought have brought happiness (travel, concerts, plays, cookery classes) but although I have enjoyed the memory of those experiences since they happened I don't think it counts.
Tricky!
--- End quote ---
I keep thinking of that industrial-strength Kitchenaid mixer.
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