Happiness
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 129 No 4, 7 June 2024, page 32.
Recently, a comment on a greetings card – “Wishing you health and happiness” – made me think about the word “happiness” and how it is reflected in the life of a retiree.
A little research found the following.
In psychology: Happiness is a mental or emotional state of wellbeing which can be defined as positive or pleasant emotions, ranging from contentment to intense joy. Happy mental states may reflect a person’s judgement about their overall wellbeing.
In philosophy: Happiness is translated from the Greek and refers to good luck as opposed to an emotion.
In politics: Happiness as a guiding ideal is expressed in the United States Declaration of Independence of 1776, written by Thomas Jefferson, as the universal right to “the pursuit of happiness”. This seems to suggest a subjective interpretation, but one that goes beyond emotions alone.
Since the 1960s, happiness research has been conducted in a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including gerontology, social psychology, clinical and medical research, and happiness economics.
Happiness in a broad sense is the label for a family of pleasant emotional senses, including wellbeing, quality of life, contentment, satisfaction, gratification, and triumph.
Martin Seligman summarises five factors relating to wellbeing:
- Pleasure (tasty food, warm baths etc.)
- Engagement (the absortion of an enjoyed yet challenging activity)
- Relationships (social ties have turned out to be an extremely reliable indicator of happiness)
- Meaning (a perceived quest or belonging to something bigger
- Accomplishments (having realised tangible goals).
Even though no evidence of a link between happiness and physical health has been found, a positive relationship has been suggested between the volume of grey matter in the right area of the brain and the subject’s happiness score. Good mental health and good relationships contribute to happiness, and governments should take these into account when devising the spending of government money.
Retirees – especially those belonging to the Retired Teachers Association, whose philosophy is socialisation and continued learning – should all feel some degree of happiness in our daily lives as we enjoy attending the monthly activities.