Plague Journal, Rilke
And we, who have always thought
of happiness as rising, would feel
the emotion that almost overwhelms us
whenever a happy thing falls.
— Rainer Maria Rilke, The Tenth Elegy
I suppose that my first few months of life were happy. That is speculation. I am not certain that I have at any time been a happy person. Happiness is a state of being that depends upon a lucky upbringing. A happy person benefits from a ground tone of positive feeling throughout the arc of life, a consequence of mindful parenting. Or so it seems to me.
As for myself, and for the vast majority of humankind, happiness is ephemeral, a bluebird that easily flies away. A run of good luck possibly results in a sense of well-being, happiness. A long desired object, like a bright new toy to a child, can provoke that happy feeling for a while. People can make us happy, but that often turns out to be illusion. Relationships come with their quotient of hard work.
I have opted to seek meaning, to take advantage of the promise of philosophy as a repository of meaning, in lieu of the happiness which is elusive, evanescent. I should also add that friendship has worked for me. We are not solitary beings, as a standard issue human being I require exchange of emotional energy with proximate others. Let’s explore what we have in common! What can we fashion from those ideas and experiences?
I offer this meditation upon happiness because we have some hard months ahead of us. Not yet at mid December already the daily deaths from the pandemic is at record level. The months ahead will be gray, frigid, our freedom of movement limited by winter and by increased danger of contagion. I think that we are better off if we dispense with the expectation that we deserve to be happy. Take what is offered by way of meaning, in the small pleasures of a safe circumstance. Minimize increasing the exposure to becoming very ill, incapacitated, with the virus, when hospital beds are already full.
This is what we owe to ourselves, and to those who care about us, and also to the future generation.
Everything matters….
Some additional quotations from BREATHING, Chaos and Poetry by Franco “Bifo” Berardi.
Civilization is not crumbling, it is only diverging from civility. Today, civility dissolves while civilization strengthens its uncivilized grip. p. 124
Now the man-made machine seems to be turning into a second natural necessity: a hyper-Leviathan that is no longer under the control of human reason, but under the control of self-replicating and self-governing automatism. This is why political action seems impotent to change the course of social relations: the combination of corporate economy and digital technology has left the orbit of volition, and consequently human culture has abandoned the sphere of humanism that was defined by ontological freedom and by the effectiveness of political will. p. 124
How about a tune to hold-on to?
Don’t Stop
by Fleetwood Mac
[Lindsey Buckingham:]
If you wake up and don’t want to smile
If it takes just a little while
Open your eyes and look at the day
You’ll see things in a different way
[Buckingham and C. McVie:]
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be here better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone
[Christine McVie:]
Why not think about times to come?
And not about the things that you’ve done?
If your life was bad to you
Just think what tomorrow will do
[Buckingham and C. McVie:]
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be here better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone
[Buckingham and C. McVie:]
All I want is to see you smile
If it takes just a little while
I know you don’t believe that it’s true
I never meant any harm to you
[Buckingham and C. McVie:]
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be here better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone
[Buckingham and C. McVie:]
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Don’t stop, it’ll soon be here
It’ll be here better than before
Yesterday’s gone, yesterday’s gone
[Buckingham and C. McVie:]
Don’t you look back
Don’t you look back
Don’t you look back
Don’t you look back
2 thoughts on “Plague Journal, Rilke”
Just to add a small dimension to your thoughts, I’m offering a few quotes about happiness from the Dalai Lama:
“When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.”
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
“If we think only of ourselves, forget about other people, then our minds occupy very small area. Inside that small area, even tiny problem appears very big. But the moment you develop a sense of concern for others, you realize that, just like ourselves, they also want happiness; they also want satisfaction. When you have this sense of concern, your mind automatically widens. At this point, your own problems, even big problems, will not be so significant. The result? Big increase in peace of mind. So, if you think only of yourself, only your own happiness, the result is actually less happiness. You get more anxiety, more fear.”
“The various features and aspects of human life, such as longevity, good health, success, happiness, and so forth, which we consider desirable, are all dependent on kindness and a good heart.”
Some excellent quotes to think about, to practice, one day at a time. I was reminded of a saying by an American Buddhist teacher, Charlotte “Joko” Beck who stated that what we need in terms of mind and soul is “a bigger box.”