Issues: ‘My search for happiness ends in Jakarta’

The Jakarta Post   |  Sat, 07/04/2009 11:23 AM  |  Reader's Forum

Seasonal disaster: This file photo shows the condition of Jakarta during the flood in 2007 when more than half of the city was inundated by water. (JP/P.J. Leo)

June 28, p. 1

No one seems to know how to define happiness. It took German philosopher Immanuel Kant — a writer known for his difficult prose — to come up with the lame definition that happiness is not derived from reason, but of imagination. Russian literature giant Leo Tolstoy was apparently as confused as Kant when asked to define happiness. He only said that if we want to be happy, just be it.

My favorite French philosopher, Albert Camus, does not help me much either. I was quite unhappy when he said that we would never be happy if we continue to search for what happiness consists of and that we would never live if we were looking for the meaning of life.

With such a definition, Camus comes off more as a self-help guru than a Nobel laureate. The Beatles went as far as saying that happiness is a warm gun, a definition that I can easily associate with Americans (especially card-carrying members of the National Rifle Association) who apparently equate the pursuit of happiness with gun ownership.

Given the fact that there are no agreed upon definitions of happiness, I was really upset when my wife read to me an excerpt from the book The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Place is the World penned by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) correspondent Eric Weiner, which said that Indonesia is an unhappy country populated by unhappy people.

Your comments:

I think, happiness is related on self confidence and the way somebody loves themselves. So, whatever will be, just remember, such is life.

Westi    

I know Jakarta is very polluted and has many problems. But this writing sounds like it comes from a spoiled kid who has lived the comfortable life overseas thanks to his parents.

To even complain about Americans who enjoy having guns after living so many years in the US tells a lot about his manhood too.

And, by the way, Jakarta is definitely not representative of the whole country.
The writer needs to expand his horizon beyond just reading western literature from questionable sources.

Robert Wenger  

The neighbors’ grass always looks greener. Jakarta is one of the most fascinating cities in the world, and its people are some of the friendliest.

If the author has problems with celebrity nonsense culture and materialism then he ought to sample any city in the West where things are far, far worse.

It may be an infuriating place to live at times but generally, if you are part of the privileged sector that even gets considered to write for the Post, you ought to be happy with your lot.  Head down to Blok M, sink a couple of Bintangs and see what happens. Your troubles may evaporate quite rapidly.

Bobby  

Thank you for your reflections on happiness. My colleague, Fred Horowitz, often quotes the “Tao Te Ching:” “We begin life gently and yielding. At death, we are rigid, inflexible. The grasses that grow are green and supple. In death they are withered and sere.

Therefore, the rigid and inflexible belong to death..”  Just bend a bit, blend with circumstances, and go with the flow. You just might be happy in the process.

Frank Bonkowski     

I was always complaining about the hectic, super hot-polluted air and the never ending traffic in Jakarta. But now, living abroad has made me love my Jakarta even more than I realized. I think happiness is not limited by place, expressions or the literary meanings itself.

It can be so abstract if we search and question it the other way around. It can be so real once you have the feeling of being happy.

Dini Ayu  

I think everyone has a different definition of happiness. We’re the ones who can define for ourselves what can make us happy.

As for me, happiness is when: I know that all I have is more than enough, I have no fear nor worry about tomorrow and I know that there are people who truly love me and I love them too. Those are indications of my happiness.

JS

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