bRAVE NEW WORLD
Project Overview
In this project we read the book "Brave New World" and did many activities with the book. We also annotated as we went through the book on what we thought was important. We then used these annotations in our first seminar that was solely concerning the book. Then we had another seminar about happiness in general and how reading this book as well as a few other articles has influenced our view on happiness. The final piece of this project is an art piece of our choice.
In this project we read the book "Brave New World" and did many activities with the book. We also annotated as we went through the book on what we thought was important. We then used these annotations in our first seminar that was solely concerning the book. Then we had another seminar about happiness in general and how reading this book as well as a few other articles has influenced our view on happiness. The final piece of this project is an art piece of our choice.
Pleasure and Comfort vs. Truth and Happiness
There are two kinds of happiness one that comes from taking and one that comes from finding meaning; whether its through giving to the community, or taking healthy risks that help you grow as a person. Happiness shouldn’t come from taking from others.
In the book “Brave New World” not many that are truly happy. Most think they are happy because they have no idea what true happiness is. They are fooled into thinking that temporary pleasures are as good as happiness. Because the truth is so twisted and hidden they are unable to decide for themselves whether or not they want pleasures or happiness. Aldous Huxley wrote this book based on where he thought our world was going. Do we want to end up like the people in “Brave New World”? Do we want to turn into a superficial society where emotions are shut out and are taught to be ignored. Are we even happy right now? The U.S is rated 23rd happiest country in the world. If this is where we are placed, what are we doing wrong? We are slowly morphing into a world where everything is made for comfort, but we are slowly losing meaning.
One thing that makes us happy is having a sense of belonging in a tight knit community. In the movie “Happy” they interview a few people living at a shared home in Denmark. These people said they were happier and more content with their lives than others. If these people are generally happier is it because they were more in touch with their families and their community. Participating in a community and being valued as you are can improve your life. Okinawa is an island off Japan that has many city participants events and the people on this island are known to be much happier. This shows that participating in a in community events can influence your and the people around you’s lives. If you surround yourself with those who appreciate you it could improve your life.
Taking healthy risks can improve your well being and optimism. Tyler Tervooren said “I step outside my comfort zone and take a risk on something that’s meaningful to me-it adds a great deal to my enjoyment of life.” Taking risks will help you change things up and not get stuck in a rut. If you are stuck in the same drill everyday then you are no longer growing and improving as a person. When you are not taking risks you can’t appreciate all of the good pieces of life. Paulo Coelho said, “You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” He is saying that in order to appreciate something we must understand what life is like without it. Take risks and don’t choose not to do something just because you might fall down, you can always get right back up.
I think that the key to finding happiness is first finding meaning. In the article “There’s more to life than being happy”, it says, “People who lead more meaningful lives get a lot of joy.” People get joy from giving to others, this also brings meaning to their life. Helping others can also bring stress but it brings reason and meaning to one's life. People feel good making others lives better or easier. Quoting, “There’s more to life than being happy,” again “ One must have reason to be happy.” Reason and meaning are very similar things. In this quote it says that having reason or meaning can improve on one overall happiness. If you find meaning and reason you will probably become more happy.
In order for someone to be happy must someone else suffer? Some people seem to think that in order to be happy you must “But they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of the city, the tenderness of their friendship, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest, and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this childs abominable misery.” This was said in a short story called “The ones who walk away from Omelas. This quote is saying that everything thats good in the world is only good if their is bad that can compare to it. I do agree that the bad gives us some helpful perspective but is it the only way to gain perspective? I do not think that all things good are only that way because something is bad. I think that we can find happiness without causing suffering. Another quote on this subject is one by John Green, “ Without pain how could we know joy?” I think that it is possible to appreciate joy without suffering. I dont think that it would be an easy transition for all of us to make but I do think it is possible. Pursue happiness unless it is impeding on someone elses.
I think that in order to find authentic happiness everyone must synchronize their goal and for one generation we should just focus on removing all suffering that we can influence. In order to influence our culture to do this I think we must try to get the greater part of our population to see the macro picture. We should, as a whole examine how to achieve happiness because this will greater improve everyone's life. We should start finding happiness through helping the community and having a sense of family instead of leeching off of others contentment. Begin to take daily rist so that we continue to grow and so we don't get stuck in a rut. If we find meaning we can find happiness. We must stop searching for shallow internal gratification and start to find meaning within ourselves by helping others, this will help you and the people around you improve on your wellbeing.
There are two kinds of happiness one that comes from taking and one that comes from finding meaning; whether its through giving to the community, or taking healthy risks that help you grow as a person. Happiness shouldn’t come from taking from others.
In the book “Brave New World” not many that are truly happy. Most think they are happy because they have no idea what true happiness is. They are fooled into thinking that temporary pleasures are as good as happiness. Because the truth is so twisted and hidden they are unable to decide for themselves whether or not they want pleasures or happiness. Aldous Huxley wrote this book based on where he thought our world was going. Do we want to end up like the people in “Brave New World”? Do we want to turn into a superficial society where emotions are shut out and are taught to be ignored. Are we even happy right now? The U.S is rated 23rd happiest country in the world. If this is where we are placed, what are we doing wrong? We are slowly morphing into a world where everything is made for comfort, but we are slowly losing meaning.
One thing that makes us happy is having a sense of belonging in a tight knit community. In the movie “Happy” they interview a few people living at a shared home in Denmark. These people said they were happier and more content with their lives than others. If these people are generally happier is it because they were more in touch with their families and their community. Participating in a community and being valued as you are can improve your life. Okinawa is an island off Japan that has many city participants events and the people on this island are known to be much happier. This shows that participating in a in community events can influence your and the people around you’s lives. If you surround yourself with those who appreciate you it could improve your life.
Taking healthy risks can improve your well being and optimism. Tyler Tervooren said “I step outside my comfort zone and take a risk on something that’s meaningful to me-it adds a great deal to my enjoyment of life.” Taking risks will help you change things up and not get stuck in a rut. If you are stuck in the same drill everyday then you are no longer growing and improving as a person. When you are not taking risks you can’t appreciate all of the good pieces of life. Paulo Coelho said, “You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” He is saying that in order to appreciate something we must understand what life is like without it. Take risks and don’t choose not to do something just because you might fall down, you can always get right back up.
I think that the key to finding happiness is first finding meaning. In the article “There’s more to life than being happy”, it says, “People who lead more meaningful lives get a lot of joy.” People get joy from giving to others, this also brings meaning to their life. Helping others can also bring stress but it brings reason and meaning to one's life. People feel good making others lives better or easier. Quoting, “There’s more to life than being happy,” again “ One must have reason to be happy.” Reason and meaning are very similar things. In this quote it says that having reason or meaning can improve on one overall happiness. If you find meaning and reason you will probably become more happy.
In order for someone to be happy must someone else suffer? Some people seem to think that in order to be happy you must “But they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of the city, the tenderness of their friendship, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest, and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this childs abominable misery.” This was said in a short story called “The ones who walk away from Omelas. This quote is saying that everything thats good in the world is only good if their is bad that can compare to it. I do agree that the bad gives us some helpful perspective but is it the only way to gain perspective? I do not think that all things good are only that way because something is bad. I think that we can find happiness without causing suffering. Another quote on this subject is one by John Green, “ Without pain how could we know joy?” I think that it is possible to appreciate joy without suffering. I dont think that it would be an easy transition for all of us to make but I do think it is possible. Pursue happiness unless it is impeding on someone elses.
I think that in order to find authentic happiness everyone must synchronize their goal and for one generation we should just focus on removing all suffering that we can influence. In order to influence our culture to do this I think we must try to get the greater part of our population to see the macro picture. We should, as a whole examine how to achieve happiness because this will greater improve everyone's life. We should start finding happiness through helping the community and having a sense of family instead of leeching off of others contentment. Begin to take daily rist so that we continue to grow and so we don't get stuck in a rut. If we find meaning we can find happiness. We must stop searching for shallow internal gratification and start to find meaning within ourselves by helping others, this will help you and the people around you improve on your wellbeing.
Reflection
1. If someone asked me how to find happiness I would tell them to find meaning first and then search for happiness afterwards. During this project I learned that we shouldn’t just focus on improving our own lives, but we should also think about others well being. Helping others can bring meaning to your own life. I read in an article during this project that meaning is the key to joy. Responsibility for something bigger than ourselves can bring us meaning and joy. Some kinds of happiness are shallow and you get them from taking and some are deep and you get them from giving. The way to get happiness is you need some of balance between taking and giving.
2. This summer I am going to try and balance my fun and work correctly. I am going to try to get a job and work 30 hours a week. I will also be kayaking, playing lacrosse, and participating in other fun activities with my friends and family. The work will keep me well centered and I won't get bored. Boredom can lead to making bad decisions. The fun will keep me interested and happy. With this plan I will be having fun and I will be responsible for something. This will bring meaning and happiness to my life.
3. During this project I have learned a lot about the pursuit of happiness and how during this pursuit you must be aware of the people around you. Many people are so concentrated on finding happiness they forget about the effect they are having on others. This project taught me that you don't want to lose sight of your own goals but you also don’t want to trample over other peoples dreams and goals. I have learned that the key to a happy and meaningful life is to find a happy medium between giving and taking in an earnest way. I hope that I will be able to apply this to my life and take it in stride during whatever comes my way.
1. If someone asked me how to find happiness I would tell them to find meaning first and then search for happiness afterwards. During this project I learned that we shouldn’t just focus on improving our own lives, but we should also think about others well being. Helping others can bring meaning to your own life. I read in an article during this project that meaning is the key to joy. Responsibility for something bigger than ourselves can bring us meaning and joy. Some kinds of happiness are shallow and you get them from taking and some are deep and you get them from giving. The way to get happiness is you need some of balance between taking and giving.
2. This summer I am going to try and balance my fun and work correctly. I am going to try to get a job and work 30 hours a week. I will also be kayaking, playing lacrosse, and participating in other fun activities with my friends and family. The work will keep me well centered and I won't get bored. Boredom can lead to making bad decisions. The fun will keep me interested and happy. With this plan I will be having fun and I will be responsible for something. This will bring meaning and happiness to my life.
3. During this project I have learned a lot about the pursuit of happiness and how during this pursuit you must be aware of the people around you. Many people are so concentrated on finding happiness they forget about the effect they are having on others. This project taught me that you don't want to lose sight of your own goals but you also don’t want to trample over other peoples dreams and goals. I have learned that the key to a happy and meaningful life is to find a happy medium between giving and taking in an earnest way. I hope that I will be able to apply this to my life and take it in stride during whatever comes my way.