Dear Nick,
It's been a while since I've written you and I hope you are well. I hope that you are settling into your new responsibilities while managing to have a fun time. I'm writing you today because I noticed a recent phenomenon on Facebook. Apparently, some people have been using the hashtag #100HappyDays. I don't know if this is new, or really old and I just haven't noticed it yet...needless to say I was at first irked by it. The premise of the hashtag is that for 100 days you challenge yourself to post a photo of something that has made you happy each day for 100 days on a social media outlet of your preference. At first, I recoiled with disgust. As you know, social media can often lead to selfishness and self-aggrandizement. I thought that this hashtag was about celebrating oneself. "Oh hey! Look at how happy I am! Life is great!" Yes, we are glad you are having such a nice day, but that doesn't mean you have to brag about it. We all have bad days, but it seems like you're shaming us for feeling miserable just because you are happy.
We are not amused. However, I've given it some thought and maybe it is not entirely bad. The goal of the hashtag is to challenge yourself to find something each day that makes you happy. Sometimes, we don't always stop and appreciate the little things in life, those small flares of joy we feel when we experience or see something that makes us happy. Perhaps the hashtag is a way to gain a newfound appreciation for those moments and to be more grateful for one's own life.
I have recently started reading the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. In addition to being a Roman emperor, in his spare time he would moonlight as a Stoic philosopher. Go figure. Anywho, ole Marcus states in his Meditations that much of our experiences in life depend on our disposition, which we control. Our demeanor determines how we experience reality. In this sense, one should exercise discipline over their minds and renew themselves daily. Our opinion determines everything, as external things cannot affect the soul. As he states, "The universe is transformation: life is opinion." Being angry at someone for their ignorance is like being angry at your hand or your arm; human beings were meant to live cooperatively and to be angry at one human being is really just to anger yourself.
I don't know if I agree with good Marcus, but he brings up an interesting point. How much does our disposition or opinion affect our outlook on the world and our interactions with other people? I have noticed that my prejudices and predilections often guide my interactions with others and leads me to reach opinions that are not born of the person's character exhibited towards me. Hence, I am more inclined to listen to a woman I deem attractive, more resentful of a man whom I perceive as more physically attractive, etc and so forth. However, it becomes really problematic when the affect is an internalized prejudice, say to a certain race or sex. As such, my opinion is formed by my upbringing and other factors, but I have final say in the direction of my opinion and where it leads me. The intelligence is the "ruling order" of our body, as Marcus would say. As such, we should aspire for tranquility.
That being said, I have struggled with tranquility this summer. I find my disposition often trends to anxiety teetering on panic. However, that is why it is important to remember that those emotions are often just as fleeting as happiness and tranquility. Sometimes it feels as though the world is going to swallow you whole, but remember that happy days will be here again. It may just be that we are all tired souls, scrambling and clambering after one another to prove to ourselves that we are satisfied. It may just be that we all just want to fill the appetites of our soul by giving in purely to desire. However, as one tired soul I cannot help but think that perhaps the goal should be equanimity, or rather establishing an equilibrium with oneself and one's desires. These are weighty thoughts that may never reach a conclusion, but my advice to you is that you seek to find tranquility and balance in your life. Do not seek the happy moments, for you may be consumed by it and think that life is defined purely by happiness, but rather allow the happy moments to occur and cherish them. Be present in all things. Keep a weather eye on your own consciousness and you will find greater balance when you feel as though there is a hole in the world that is opening just underneath your feet.
I hope you're doing well my friend. Stay thirsty,
Kyle
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