Inside Yoga 121 (10/11/14)
Does happiness matter? This is a question posed by a recent newspaper article, part of an interesting series of articles about happiness in the Guardian (called ‘Happy for Life’). One feature does ask this question – does happiness matter? While another looks at how our work/leisure balance has been replaced by 24/7 anxiety.
The articles makes some interesting points, based on research, for example one piece of research found that “happiness doesn’t just feel good, it actually leads to a wide range of benefits for our performance, health, relationships and more.”
The research showed that employees who are happy were more productive, while emotional well-being in school children showed significant gains in academic achievement, as well as pupil behaviour, and also better decision making and improved creativity.
Other research has revealed that happier people have better overall health and live longer, and are less likely to catch colds. And the article goes on adding more and more examples of why we are better through finding some level of happiness, for example, happier people are more likely to be involved in the community, taking part in voluntary work and public activities.
And policy makers are now realising it’s not about being wealthier but about the electorate being happy. One piece of research found that the majority (87 per cent) of UK adults said they would prefer a society with the “greatest overall happiness and wellbeing”, rather than the “greatest overall wealth” (8 per cent).
And most tellingly most parents when asked what they want above all for their children, say: “I really just want them to be happy.”
The article thankfully cites Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, who said: “Happiness is a deep sense of flourishing, not a mere pleasurable feeling or fleeting emotion but an optimal state of being.”
In the Yoga Sutras there is something called Santosha, which translates as contentment. It is one of the Niyamas from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and it is described by TKV Desikachar as also meaning modesty and feeling content with what we have. He says: Often we hope for a particular result to ensue from our actions, and we are just as often disappointed… we should accept what has happened.”
This is of course hard, easier said than done, but when looked at with time and some wisdom this makes sense, because it is all about how we respond to the world around us that influences how we feel inside.
So if we can detach ourselves from a reactive mode that catapults us all over the place as events unfold we can learn to respond according to the advice of santosha.
It is also worth pointing out that this principle does not work in isolation, that it’s not just santosha that will solve the riddle of happiness, but a holistic approach which does include living in an environment that is conducive to well-being, and that might simply mean family and community not the biggest house in the most beautiful setting (though, many of us would like this – but some very wealthy people who have their perfect abode are still unhappy, while a family in an Indian slum is more happy).
The bottom line is we all want to be happy, as the newspaper article, written by Mark Williamson (director of ‘Action for Happiness’) finishes by saying, “Happiness is the thing we want most for the people we love the most. That’s why it matters so much.”
To read the articles, go to The Guardian series Happy for Life at http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/happy-for-life
Any comments for me, please fill in the box below, or send an email to gary@yogabristol.co.uk .
