“If you want to be happy, be.

”
Does happiness seem more elusive in today's
world?

Chiu Shi Jun Dexter 03S18

 
Modern day society is plagued with increasing suicide rates, greater
numbers of people suffering from chronic depression and a whole
barrage of stress-related psychological disorders. Amidst improving
standards of living and increasing affluence, this trend is becoming
more evident with each passing year. It almost seems that with our
pursuit of wealth, we have forgotten the simple pleasures in life,
and happiness has become nothing more than a unattainable state
of mind. It is this trend that makes us wonder, that in the current
day society, being in a state of joy really seem harder to achieve
than before.

 
It is inevitable that the trends of today are compared to the trends
of the past as we ponder upon this question. With improving
technology, deaths due to certain illnesses have become rare, but it
seems that death by choice has replaced it. More disturbing still is
that suicides amongst youths are becoming more commonplace.
Whilst there was little need for psychiatrist back then, there are
recently increasing depression-related mental problems, partly
triggering increasing suicide rates. Why the need for counselling
only now, and not then? Japan has the highest suicide rate, and
faces another frightening phenomenon, for a condition known as
societal withdrawal has been on the rise. It is a condition in which a
person withdraws from society, keeping to himself and severing all
contacts with the outside world. In the face of these facts, it leads
one to believe that there is little happiness in today's world, and it
has driven people into states of depression and withdrawal from
human society or even death.

 
Modern day society is fast becoming a world of deceit and
hypocrisy, where almost everyday seems to be a game of cloak and
dagger. Monetary success has never been viewed more importantly
than now, and many are willing to do anything to achieve this. Have
humans become greedier than before, or is this just another form of
survival? It may be true that man is able to survive even without
much money but after the basic needs of nourishment and shelter
are fulfilled, other needs begin to increase in importance. For
instance, today's world has an extremely high emphasis on
education, for it is believed that education provides everyone
opportunity as well as a means to escape poverty, regardless of
ethnicity or nationality. In some countries, so much emphasis has
been placed on education that even where one receives ones
education or how one receives it even matters. Japanese parents
have been known to send their children to “cram-schools” at a
tender young age, just so as they can be accepted into the elite
schools. Singaporean parents place their children in every single
field possible, where it is no longer surprising to see a child at the
age of five enrolled in tuition, sports training, art and craft lessons
and music lessons while still having to attend school. It leads us to
suspect if the child is even happy during those times, where
learning is no longer a satisfaction of curiosity, but a chore instead.
There is also an emphasis on material wealth in today's world,
where people have become willing to work long hours, sacrificing
precious family time and relaxation time, in jobs they have a clear
disdain for, so long as the pay is good. In our pursuits in today's
world, happiness does seem more elusive than ever.

 
Rather than taking time to enjoy life, we have been endlessly
rushed from one place to another. Life in today's world has become
a rush to cover as much distance as possible from the moment of
birth to the moment they nail shut the lid of the coffin. The time
factor in our lives has seemed to have forced people to forget about
their basic happiness, so as to pursue a senseless goal, one after
another. Yet, one must look inward and ask is it truly today's world
that deprives us of our happiness, or have we unconsciously done
that on our own? Humans are greedy by nature, almost never
understanding that the price of getting what you want, is having
what you once wanted. Instead of being satisfied with what we have
obtained or achieved, we constantly crave for more. The man who
earns the most, is usually the person who wants even more.
Happiness is only a state of mind, and if we so choose to, we can be
happy, as aptly stated, “If you want to be happy, be.” If one is
content with what he has, then he is the happiest person in his
world. This is unlike what humanity is doing today, which believes
that through gaining more, there will be greater happiness. Setting
goals in life is necessary for progress, but overdoing it only leads to
despair. Until you spread your wings, you will never know how far
you can walk. Everyone has his own limitations and it is senseless
to push a personone too far beyond what he is capable of.
Happiness does seem to be more elusive in today's world, simply
because of greater expectations, which inevitably leads to greater
disappointment.

 
In conclusion, happiness does seem more elusive in today's world,
but in truth it is just as simple to achieve as before. Somewhere
along the way in humanity's frivolous pursuit of perceived
happiness, many have forgotten what it basically means to be
happy. A cripple who dreams of running and attempts to, is set to
be disappointed and unhappy, whereas if he chooses to take a small
step at a time and be satisfied at gradual progress, then happiness
is easily achieved. However, happiness can be determined by the
choices in our life. There are times in our life that we make our own
choices, or others make choices for us and sometimes we have no
choice at all, so it is important we do what we must, and live
accepting those choices. In today's world we have become too
afraid of failure, and have become unwilling to accept it. Depression
sets in because we have failed ourselves. We are afraid to climb
because we are afraid to fall, but is it so bad to fall? Happiness is
more elusive because we ourselves made it as such, and it is our
own choice in the way we think, whether we achieve happiness or
not. In a sense, we fear happiness because we fear it being taken
away from us.