Monday 16 March 2009

Is Happiness a Reasonable Goal?



"Is happiness a reasonable goal? Alas, I suspect it is not. I suspect it is the last thing to aim for... for it is a by-product, a thing that appears when you are engaged in some other task, a thing that disappears when you set out after it, like a cat, who, pursued, will hide; coaxed, will stride indifferently over to the neighbour’s yard; but ignored, will come and lean on your leg as you work or climb in your lap as you sit reading.”
Jo Coudert ‘Advice from a Failure’

“I do not believe, of course, that any human being can be really happy for long. True happiness comes, and goes as quickly, a rare fleeting thing. But content is something else again. And for a whole month, I was content. With me, this was a record.”

Barbara Webster – “Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge”

"How often do we look for beauties in the features of distant lands, and forget the little nooks and corners of our own happy country. Alas we often search for happiness and peace where they are never found. Search your own homes and hearts. If not there, they are nowhere."
Richard Cobbald


(Cartoon by Joe Pitt – animation cartoonist at Disney studios)

3 comments:

  1. Nice quotes. Did one of these make your study wall? All are worthy.

    Inspiration galore. Thanks.

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  2. This is excellent! I think it must be true that happiness is not something to be aimed for, but a by-product. It's not meant to be the destination, but a benefit of the journey.

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  3. Thank you for this.
    Truly, happiness is not the goal, it is the end result. I forget sometimes.

    ReplyDelete

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