Asklemmy

53382 readers

529 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

Open-ended question
Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Lemmyverse: community search
sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
!lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 6 years ago

MODERATORS

When was the last time you felt happy? (lemmy.world)

submitted 18 hours ago by yizus@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

39 comments fedilink hide all child comments

There are some moments in life in which a sudden self-awareness of happiness hits - a moment in which you step back from yourself and realize that, in that instant, everything is good. A feeling of your consciousness pulling away to make an emotional snapshot of that moment to care for and examine like one would a wounded bird or a nugget of gold.

While I don't consider my life as a unhappy one, I only have a few of these moments guarded away. The first being at around age 6. My parents were giving me a group hug while we were all singing a family lullaby. My mother was expecting my baby brother at the time and that was the first time the baby's name was included in the song. I remember feeling detached and floating away while taking in the moment.

The last time I experienced it I had just finished changing the sheets on a new king bed I splurged on after a small windfall. I remember laying on the bedspread and my 2yr old pup hopping on to play around the newly made bed. Instead of ushering him off as I usually did, I just watched him mess up the bedspread.

(I know happiness is not a fixed concept and everyone can have their own definition and experiences, but given my ignorance of the specific word to refer to the instant moment of self-awareness described, I just went with it)

Curious to read your thoughts and experiences.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] yizus@lemmy.world 4 points 18 hours ago

I wonder if the scarcity of these moments adds to their value.

I'm not in favor of self-denying ourselves these special moments when we can, but, as someone who has been unemployed, I feel a big difference in doing whatever you want because you choose to as opposed to because there's nothing else to do.

The modern workplace has become a chore, and while I know it's not realistic or practical to "do what you love", it is a bit sad to think the modern workplace is more a chore necessary for survival rather than a natural activity endowed with meaning on its own terms. At least, in my case.

Thank you for sharing.