Over breakfast, I finished The Happiness Manifesto, by Nic Marks. While only “okay,” I did find a few thoughts worth holding on to:
Much of modern life is based upon a false logic, a logic that assumes that happiness and well-being come from financial prosperity. Thus most politicians – and most of our mainstream media – appear to assume that the main goal of government is to ensure the economy is forever moving forward. It is almost as if the American founding fathers had declared that our inalienable rights were Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Economic Growth. There are two main reasons why this assumption is wrong. First, once basic material needs have been met, there is very little evidence that pursuing financial prosperity generates much extra happiness for individuals or for nations. Second, by blindly pursuing economic growth, we are creating a whole set of social and environmental issues that will undermine the potential.
This came echoing back to me as I sat down to read the text of Arianna Huffington’s commencement address at Smith College, wherein she said:
At the moment, our society’s notion of success is largely composed of two parts: money and power. In fact, success, money and power have practically become synonymous.
But it’s time for a third metric, beyond money and power — one founded on well-being, wisdom, our ability to wonder, and to give back. Money and power by themselves are a two legged stool — you can balance on them for a while, but eventually you’re going to topple over. And more and more people, very successful people, are toppling over every day. Basically, success the way we’ve defined it is no longer sustainable. It’s not sustainable for human beings; it’s not sustainable for the planet. To live the lives we want, and not just the ones we settle for, the lives society defines as successful, we need to include the third metric.
I’m left, this morning, feeling exceedingly grateful. I’m grateful that my job pays enough that Christina and I have all that we need; I’m grateful for work with students that is deeply fulfilling; I’m grateful for the love, friendship, and affection that Christina and I share; and I’m grateful for a caring and supportive family and network of friends. Of those, the most quantifiable and measurable is the paycheck — but it’s, ultimately, the least important, least valuable, and least satisfying. While the paycheck makes life livable, it is the rest that makes life worth living.
Thank you for a great year.[1]
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It may seem odd to non-teachers, but we think of graduation season as New Year’s eve, and the first day of class in August as New Year’s day; both engender periods of deep reflection. ↩