Unhappiness

I’m starting a new “Quotations” category. Here’s the first:

Unhappiness equals idealized images minus reality.

- Dennis Prager

Unfortunately, I don’t have a link to the exact source. I heard Dennis speaking on the subject on his national radio show. If you don’t believe me, here’s another guy that quotes him, charlesnorth.blogspot.com. He seems a decent fellow.

Anyway, back to the quote. I find it quite interesting. To phrase it in other words: gazing upon an ideal status of being, while knowing the truth of our actual status, is the source of unhappiness. This “status of being” could  be the owning of tangible objects, but more profoundly, it could be the makeup of character. Wishing we were something that we are not could indeed cause unhappiness or depression. However, for the optimistic it could also be a great motivator to attaining a more ideal status.

The quotation isn’t perfect. I think it should read, “One of the sources of unhappiness…” The comparison between want and have isn’t the only source of unhappiness. Maybe it’s the most frequent reason for unhappiness -in the minds of those who feel sorry for themselves, but I think the source of the most exquisite unhappiness would have to be the spiritual separation of man and God, when it is brought upon ourselves from our own agency. The notion I’m referring to is called “spiritual death,” and is caused by sin, or in other words, the deliberate disobedience of God’s will.

With that said, I think the quote could very well read:

The greatest unhappiness equals the knowledge that the choices we made were opposed to the ones achieving our fullest potential, which potential was to become the idealistic image of God.

Escape from Reality

It’s important to step back every now and then to take a break from life. With so many pressures and responsibilities facing us, it’s always nice to escape into another world: a book, a movie, a video game. These are normal and healthy activities in a balanced life. For a small moment you get lost in the adventures and struggles of another world, helping you to relax from yours. The first mentioned, literature, not only allows you to escape but also imbues with knowledge. Watching a movie isn’t quite as edifying as reading, but it still lets you take a break from that never ending to do list and helps you realize your issues ain’t got nothin’ on Jason Bourne’s. The last one, playing a video game, can be fun and can also challenge your brain and reflexes. Again, these activities can be beneficial to a persons stress level, as long as they’re used along with other balanced activities. The problem occurs when the video game is played not as a relaxing recreational activity, but as an alternate reality. When responsibility and family is neglected for a false reality in a false world this “escape from reality” makes actuality suckyality.

Here’s an interesting article I found on the subject:

The Dinner Table

Remember the good old days when families had dinner together, with the TV turned off, and discussion time was a group effort from every member. With the inventions of the modern world we as humans have lost something that is very dear to our nature; we have lost human connection. When your dinner conversation is replaced by an internet game itinerary, and factious names that a face cannot be placed with, do you start to question your quality of life? Who are their real friends, what do they have in common besides a computer and a made up world? Maybe they find that working in 40hr work week with a hour commute home is to much of the real world, so they have to escape. They escape away from it all, away from the office, the home, and the people of today’s world. But are they also are escaping from their families, their kids whom go to school for 8 hours and want just a small amount of activity with their parents. Even if they give attention to the children before their bedtime, what about the spouse? Where is that human connection, the discussions of the day, how they are feeling, and what are their plans for tomorrow. “We can talk about it later………I have to logon now.”

-From wivesagainstwarcraft.blogspot.com