How can we obtain true happiness in the mist of so much suffering?

Does anyone ever feel really selfish and horrible knowing that their little relationship or money problems are getting them down, while people are dying of starvation and diseases that we have cures for? Or that people with mental health issues are being drugged to death........ or that our lives have been reduced to money?!?! This is disgusting to me I would like some perspectives, because it makes me feel worthless.... like a spoiled ignorant human, who has the most mundane and superficial aspirations that break my own heart. Life can be confusing when surrounded by illusions of what the quality of life is made out of............. Can't true happiness only be obtained when it is shared globally? When waking up in the morning isn't about how much you weigh or how good you look or how much you can buy but rather spreading joy, love and healing our planet? Food which feeds our souls is not he same which feeds our egos. I live in a time and culture of demonic egomaniacs and I am part of this system. Everyday my heart breaks and I can't even watch the news or read the paper. I have tuned out because I am tired of feeling helpless and lost. Why should I hear about dying and suffering, I am distracted by trying to "earn a living" and "build a future" while people, plants, animals and our world in general needs more from me than making a few bucks. Sometimes, it is so confusing to be me. Rant Done.

It's spelled midst...btw

Mist is something you will want to get out of ...the end garden hose....

....Well, there!...I solved a problem...and I feel better already!

The answer is rather simple - inverse of your current perspective...

How do we find so much misery amidst so much happiness?

the logistical answer... become a leader in the world by becoming an example of happiness regardless of adversity faced, horror, wonderful luck, the death of a relative, the birth of a baby - become serene happiness, it is contagious and you will change the lives of those you touch

Take the time that you spend contemplating the misery of the world that we live in and reinvest in helping a neighbor, cooking a meal for those that would go hungry, smiling at a forlorn stranger...

I hope this help

Love & Light
Katastro

Love2know, given that you can't solve the world's entire suite of horrible problems, what are you doing to improve a few particular situations? Do you donate to any charitable causes, or volunteer your time? Have you considered a career in international development work, women's health care, or inner city homeless shelters? Have you become a political activist? An investigative reporter? An ethically conscious investment counselor?

Keep in mind that self-flagellating defeatism is worse than nothing. Medical scientists have shown that people who are optimistic about life tend to have better health and to live longer. So you owe it to loved ones who care about you and whoever pays for your health care system to be optimistic.

Just some mantras to remind yourself.

1. You cannot solve the world's problems, but you can act in a way that is consistent with your values.

2. Be the change you want to see in the world. (Mahatma Ghandi)

3. Think globally and act locally. (Patrick Geddes)

4. "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." (Jack Layton, late leader of Canada's National Democratic Party. Written a few days prior to his death from cancer.)

5. I think everybody knows the parable of the little girl on the beach, who finds a lot of dying starfish stranded by low tide. A man observes her throwing them back into the ocean, one by one. "Why are you doing that?" he asks. "You can't possibly make a difference to all of them." She throws back another starfish, remarking, "I made a difference to that one."

6. Do you also know this parable by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel? A man was walking on a crowded city sidewalk when he saw an old friend of his-- dressed in a white robe and holding up a sign saying, "Repent! The end is near!" "Joe!" (or whatever the friend's name was,) said the man. "Why are you doing this? You know you are not going to change these people!" "I know," said the friend. "I do it so that they do not change me."

7. "It is not incumbent upon you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it." (Rabbi Tarfon, Pirkei Avot)

8. "Let go, and let God." (maxim at Al Anon meetings)

With best wishes for your journey, W.

Prince Siddhartha asked a similar question.

Master Kyong Ho suggested,"Make medicine from suffering."
He believed,only by trusting the natural process of life and embracing the suffering that that we encounter do we allow it to heal us,enable us to empathize with the suffering of others and provides an opportunity to awaken spirituality.

"When you produce peace and happiness in yourself,you begin to realize peace in the whole world.The world will change because of your smile."
Tich Nhat Hahn.
"If we simply smile out Love,we reach out across our seperateness and sense our shared humanity."
Joy can be infectious.
"If we want to benefit the world,the best place to start is with a smile."
Tim Freke.

J.R.

katastro said:

The answer is rather simple - inverse of your current perspective...

How do we find so much misery amidst so much happiness?

the logistical answer... become a leader in the world by becoming an example of happiness regardless of adversity faced, horror, wonderful luck, the death of a relative, the birth of a baby - become serene happiness, it is contagious and you will change the lives of those you touch

Take the time that you spend contemplating the misery of the world that we live in and reinvest in helping a neighbor, cooking a meal for those that would go hungry, smiling at a forlorn stranger...

I hope this help

Love & Light
Katastro

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...now, that's what I'm talking about....!!!! [although at times I do use sarcasm...actually I'm quite cynical...but Katastro is right....let a smile be your umbrella...and I have found that an afternoon spent doing some volunteer work or charitable act for someone you know or know of that is in need of some sort of assistance will not only usually bring a smile to the countenance of the beneficiary but it also usually knocks the cynicism right out of me ...for a few days, anyways...I am cynical to the bone...sarcasm rolls off my back like water off a duck...]


btw...cool name, 'Katastro'...sounds like somebody the Avengers or the Silver Surfer would of had as a nemesis. [if you had a gate house and charged a 'fee' to pass... could call it the...... naw, I'm not going to say it.......]

Yes thank you all, yes I agree that going outside yourself can help a lot. Lately, it has not helped to be nice to some people cuz I feel that I don't get appreciated enough.. or it doesn't make me feel that great so long cuz I feel like I could be doing more to improve myself............. maybe its my NN Aries. 9th.... or I am just egotistical lol jk im not! I remember as a child I saved several sea creatures that were washed up from the tide including a baby flounder fish!!!!! Everyone always tells me to become a social worker or councilor but I believe it could make me burn out. Just thinking about it makes me feel burnt out. Having to be trapped there listening to people and they expect answers from you.... and such high emotions I would go nuts! I guess I just reflect my love of freedom by not eating animals because I believe they have the right to live freely in nature and not separated from their families. They are not commodities to me but living beings, as I am myself. I also don't like seeing people hurting plants for no reason or bugs that drove me crazy my whole life! I don't give to homeless people usually or done volunteer work lately cuz I never liked it, I liked it more as a kid. Even in volunteer work they like don't pay you and still think they can boss you around! I don't want people telling me what to do I am more of an idea person. Aha I don't wanna feel like a servant. Like even with friends I stopped hanging out with some cuz I felt like they were too demanding or sucking off my kindness. I don't like feeling crippled by others. I also don't like the fact money is the main drive in life and I find it superficial. My family always tells me I offer too much of myself and thats why I get so bitter when I don't feel it appreciated and it becomes expected. I guess its a cancer thing.

Love2know, it sounds like you have personalized a lot of stuff that happens to all of us. This isn't bad, just unproductive. Maybe its your Cancer nature, which has so much love to give, yet is easily wounded and then retreats into its shell, snapping its claws occasionally.

A tough shell is actually a good thing to have in life. And maybe become a bit more worldly-wise or cynical. Because friends will use you. Burn out will happen. People in charge of something will get bossy. Arrogant people will treat you like the hired help. "The love of money is the root of all evil." "No good deed goes unpunished."

This is because we live in the real world. Successful people in life are not the ones who never experience life's crummy bits. They are the ones who keep going, regardless, because they follow an inner compass set on their goals, not their emotional barometer.

Before a figure skater is good enough to head for the Olympics, can you estimate how many times he has fallen on the ice?

While is important to persevere in remembering those facts that you have commented on Love2Know such as:

Love2Know said:

…. people are dying of starvation and diseases that we have cures for.... people with mental health issues are being drugged to death..... ….our lives have been reduced to money?!?! Sometimes, it is so confusing to be me. Rant Done.

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Katastro reminds us - it is equally important to maintain a balanced view

katastro said:

The answer is rather simple - inverse of your current perspective... How do we find so much misery amidst so much happiness?

the logistical answer... become a leader in the world by becoming an example of happiness regardless of adversity faced, horror, wonderful luck, the death of a relative, the birth of a baby - become serene happiness, it is contagious and you will change the lives of those you touch

Take the time that you spend contemplating the misery of the world that we live in and reinvest in helping a neighbor, cooking a meal for those that would go hungry, smiling at a forlorn stranger... I hope this help Love & Light
Katastro

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AND THEN, while acknowledging that it is not possible for any one individual to solve the world's hunger/starvation/war/exploitation - nevertheless it is possible to contribute to the common good by doing one's best to cultivate compassion by initially being helpful to one's neighbours.

Perhaps you have housebound elderly people living nearby who would welcome some assistance with basic shopping on one day a week. Perhaps there are those of your generation who are lonely – then do your best to be a friend to those people at every opportunity, when circumstances allow!

Yes I am easily upset I guess, what is the use in complaining about the sky being blue right.... it still might be blue and it still might **** you off that it's blue but it's not going to change for you, I guess my best bet is to buy tinted glasses rofl. Yeah a lot of house bound elderly people die from things as simple as it being too cold in their apartments...... really horrible. I hate taking care of sick people, it is really the worst thing ever. People say I am good at it and soothing but really it makes me feel really angry and powerless. Like I will give someone delicious soup then leave the room and they can hear me punching a wall out of restless frustration and I come back in smiling like a psycho lol and offer tea hmm ahaha I had a job helping a sickly elderly woman, really the worst most uncomfortable thing ever. I never had grandparents either so I dunno if that makes a difference, I don't have a bases of love to relate to them to or any other adult bonds I usually just made bonds with people my age not older. Kids are pretty amusing too sometimes, I doubt if I had to take care of them 24/7 I would be super happy, I guess my leo gets in the way too. I think I am weirdly maternal...... like I never thought about having or wanted kids I just pretended I did cuz its what girls do. Mentally I am blocked from it.. I am really limited in my perspective sometimes! I think my short temper is really unproductive to my well being. I saw courses for anger management yoga in my area lol. I hate committing to things like courses and things on my free time because then it becomes like a chore. Though I am much better at unplanned chaos sun opp mars represent! I was helping this friend take care of their cat and every time the cat acted weird they would ask me what I did to it. I found it so insulting I am like borderline depressed. I treated that animal like an Arabian King, I even missed a class and took off work to look after it and even though the friend was "just stressed" from the unfortunate situation and I am disgusted and heart broken all at once.

Love2Know said:

Yes I am easily upset I guess,

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Easily upset? The media regularly portrays millions dying worldwide from a toxic mix of starvation/preventable disease/war/contaminated water/pesticides/unfair trade on the World market causing horrendous unnecessary deprivation - therefore IMO "being upset" is understandable

Love2Know said:

what is the use in complaining about the sky being blue right.... it still might be blue and it still might **** you off that it's blue but it's not going to change for you, I guess my best bet is to buy tinted glasses rofl. Yeah a lot of house bound elderly people die from things as simple as it being too cold in their apartments...... really horrible. I hate taking care of sick people, it is really the worst thing ever. People say I am good at it and soothing but really it makes me feel really angry and powerless. Like I will give someone delicious soup then leave the room and they can hear me punching a wall out of restless frustration and I come back in smiling like a psycho lol and offer tea hmm ahaha I had a job helping a sickly elderly woman, really the worst most uncomfortable thing ever. I never had grandparents either so I dunno if that makes a difference, I don't have a bases of love to relate to them to or any other adult bonds I usually just made bonds with people my age not older. Kids are pretty amusing too sometimes, I doubt if I had to take care of them 24/7 I would be super happy, I guess my leo gets in the way too. I think I am weirdly maternal...... like I never thought about having or wanted kids I just pretended I did cuz its what girls do. Mentally I am blocked from it.. I am really limited in my perspective sometimes! I think my short temper is really unproductive to my well being. I saw courses for anger management yoga in my area lol. I hate committing to things like courses and things on my free time because then it becomes like a chore. Though I am much better at unplanned chaos sun opp mars represent! I was helping this friend take care of their cat and every time the cat acted weird they would ask me what I did to it. I found it so insulting I am like borderline depressed. I treated that animal like an Arabian King, I even missed a class and took off work to look after it and even though the friend was "just stressed" from the unfortunate situation and I am disgusted and heart broken all at once.

Click to expand...

Here's an almost two minute video of the Dalai Lama on "Happiness, Compassion and Mosquitos" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuFZ-DUx71w

the Dali Lama is happy cuz he gets to relax all day and everyone praises him.

Love2Know said:

Yes thank you all, yes I agree that going outside yourself can help a lot. Lately, it has not helped to be nice to some people cuz I feel that I don't get appreciated enough.. or it doesn't make me feel that great so long cuz I feel like I could be doing more to improve myself............. maybe its my NN Aries. 9th.... or I am just egotistical lol jk im not! I remember as a child I saved several sea creatures that were washed up from the tide including a baby flounder fish!!!!! Everyone always tells me to become a social worker or councilor but I believe it could make me burn out. Just thinking about it makes me feel burnt out. Having to be trapped there listening to people and they expect answers from you.... and such high emotions I would go nuts! I guess I just reflect my love of freedom by not eating animals because I believe they have the right to live freely in nature and not separated from their families. They are not commodities to me but living beings, as I am myself. I also don't like seeing people hurting plants for no reason or bugs that drove me crazy my whole life! I don't give to homeless people usually or done volunteer work lately cuz I never liked it, I liked it more as a kid. Even in volunteer work they like don't pay you and still think they can boss you around! I don't want people telling me what to do I am more of an idea person. Aha I don't wanna feel like a servant. Like even with friends I stopped hanging out with some cuz I felt like they were too demanding or sucking off my kindness. I don't like feeling crippled by others. I also don't like the fact money is the main drive in life and I find it superficial. My family always tells me I offer too much of myself and thats why I get so bitter when I don't feel it appreciated and it becomes expected. I guess its a cancer thing.

Click to expand...

You think that's tough?

Try being a servant of God ....


...it's good to 'work on oneself' As many a great guru has said, and I am most blessed and thankful to India and the Guruampara that has been maintained for thousands of years due to the fact that they isolate themselves ...sometimes in caves, high in the Himalayas, and they 'work on themselves', for the most part ..and there're many 'Saints' among them... of the first order. [this is the way that the 'Knowledge' is not contaminated...]
But Edgar Cayce once remarked in a reading [more of a discourse, really.] about what the 'sins' of various nations were and He mentioned that 'Indias' sin is the sin of the self.'
There can be too much of that and not enough sincerity ...not enough of them doing 'the good works of actual labor in helping their own.'
...Think about it.
My mantra [at times] in English is "None but the will of God through the Christ within me."
...sometimes it is "Let me be thy instrument of Peace."

..you might try one of those...affirmation mantras... But, you'd best know from the start, straight up....God'll most likely take you up on it!

...know thyself... then get busy!


I am of the Sadhan Order of Yoga of India. [from wiki]
Sādhanā (Sanskrit साधन) literally "a means of accomplishing something is ego-transcending spiritual practice.[ It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.
The historian N. Bhattacharyya provides a working definition of the benefits of sādhanā as follows:
... religious sādhanā, which both prevents an excess of worldliness and molds the mind and disposition (bhāva) into a form which develops the knowledge of dispassion and non-attachment. Sādhanā is a means whereby bondage becomes liberation.

Love2Know said:

the Dali Lama is happy cuz he gets to relax all day and everyone praises him.

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Consider reasons why the Dalai Lama is frequently praised

Love2Know, you said the Dalai Lama is happy because he "gets to relax all day" - so here is an example of a typical routine day for the Dalai Lama


When at home in Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama wakes at 3.30 a.m. has a morning shower, then begins the day with prayers, meditations, prostrations until 5.00 a.m.

From 5.00 a.m. the Dalai Lama walks around the residential premises: if raining, the Dalai Lama uses a treadmill for his walk.

The Dalai Lama's breakfast at 5.30 a.m. is typically hot porridge, tsampa (barley powder), bread with preserves, and tea.

Regularly during breakfast, the Dalai Lama tunes to BBC World News in English.

From 6 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. morning meditation and prayers.

9.00 a.m. until 11.30 a.m. The Dalai Lama studies Buddhist texts written by Buddhist masters.

Lunch 11.30 a.m. until 12.30 p.m. The Dalai Lama's kitchen in Dharamsala is vegetarian. During visits outside of Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama is not necessarily vegetarian.

As an ordained Buddhist monk, the Dalai Lama does not have dinner.

If necessary to discuss work with staff or hold audiences and interviews, the Dalai Lama visits his office from 12.30 p.m. until around 4.30 p.m.

Typically, during an afternoon at the office one interview is scheduled along with several audiences, both Tibetan and non-Tibetan.

Upon his return to his residence the Dalai Lama has evening tea at 6 p.m. before evening prayers and meditation from 6.30 p.m. until 8.30 p.m.

Finally, after a long 17-hour day the Dalai Lama retires for bed at 8.30 p.m.

The Dalai Lama is often out of Dharamsala on travels both within India and abroad. During these travels, His Holiness's daily routine varies depending on his engagement schedule. However, His Holiness is an early riser and tries as far as possible to retire early in the evening.

source: http://www.dalailama.com/biography/questions-and-answers/routine-day

Honestly that sounds like relaxing all day to me, taking a walk eating vegetarian (ideal), meditation, meetings to chit chat about some issues some monkish ideas... takes a lil stroll in a garden or on a treadmill Yep relaxes all day.

Love2Know said:

Honestly that sounds like relaxing all day to me, taking a walk eating vegetarian (ideal), meditation, meetings to chit chat about some issues some monkish ideas... takes a lil stroll in a garden or on a treadmill Yep relaxes all day.

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Potentially then, Love2Know, you would enjoy being the Dalai Lama! - however although you cannot be the Dalai Lama, it is possible to have a similarly relaxing life by waking at 03:30AM daily, showering, eating hot porridge for breakfast daily before walking around your neighbourhood... more relaxation may be obtained by studying Buddhist texts written by Buddhist masters from 9.00 a.m. until 11.30 a.m. - experiment! Perhaps you shall feel as relaxed and happy as the Dalai Lama

first you must define "true happiness" for yourself.
then you must create your external world to reflect your inner world.
for me ~ knowing i have a higher power to turn to when i'm most alone and scared of the world.
for me ~ to die being at peace with myself ~ is my hope.
one must have hope.

Hey, Love2know-- A yoga class focusing on anger management sounds like a super idea. Or any yoga class. Or one on meditation. Or read Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now. It should be available for free in your public library.

This won't change the world, but it should help you feel calmer and more constructive in facing it.

But please don't ever lose your heartfelt caring and concern. Would that more people had them!

"Be the change you seek!"

Mahatma Gandhi

@Love2Know

You are not the only one who has questioned the meaning of life. It is very hard to reconcile the concept of working for a living and the social and ecological problems of the day. The economic crisis was a wake-up call in many ways to examine the nature of the economy with intellectual and moral honesty. The failures of government are also an opportunity to see how the political system can be more compatible with the idea of democracy and more functional.

For several years I had a very tough time with that too, but doing part-time work in a fulfilling and supportive place (studying the toxicity of pesticides and suggesting low-risk alternatives to the average person) and taking martial arts classes have helped. I'm now ok with the fact that I won't get something full-time right away (in fact I wonder if I'll get there during my Saturn return, especially if I fulfill the requirements of my natal 10th house Saturn, which calls for slow, steady and scrupulous effort), especially since the private, public and non-profit sectors need a deep clean-up anyway.

We live in a very negative world, there is no question about it. Recently, I was dismayed to see my governor propose dumping pension costs to counties that have less money than the state, which I think is highly irresponsible. I have also been horrified by the mistreatment of whistleblowers in the finance sector and the federal government. At this rate, I really hope people will be ready to overcome their apprehensions of the green party.

However, my belief that someday I can establish an economic system that is more compatible with what people truly cherish keeps me going. My belief that the duopoly could be overcome someday keeps me going too.

Your intellectual and emotional recognition of the bad stuff in the world shows you are very human, but you have to find a way to protect yourself as you're ploughing through the madness of this world in the hopes of providing something better. Don't do like me and endure years of depression before reaching that point.

The road to enlightenment in a sick world is a painful one, but I hope someday lucidity can be more easily attained.