To Breakdance, Or Not To Breakdance - That Might Be The Question
Luky was really full of it this morning. He walked the entire park and sniffed out every errant misplaced odor, methodically eradicating each one with deft, predawn accuracy.
I was concentrating on my own version of biofeedback - that is, trying to think-push 200 milligrams of caffeine through my bloodstream as quickly as possible. Louis (pronounced, "Louie") and Gracie (two Papillons who live down the hall from me and Luky) were dancing on the corner. Gracie is the picture of 4-legged decorum, but her brother is a breakdancer. They are great neighbors, and Luky says he really hopes Louis gets a chance to turn pro one of these days soon.
Whether it was breakdancing or a morning of rich olfaction, Luky was full of thoughts on happiness. He says that happiness and contentment are the same thing when it comes to mood and identity . . . that when we say someone (and he says it's the same for humans) is discontent, we mean they are unhappy - at least, when we are not talking about a particular existential circumstance, like running out of Milk-Bones.
(By the way, forgive the endorsement, but Luky says I HAVE to put the link to the Milk-Bone website in here - he says there are lots of dog treats out there and lots of humans make their own macrobioscous, vegetarious stuff, but Luky says he loves Milk-Bones and thinks they can't be beat - so, I have to go along - www.milk-bone.com.)
Anyway, his whole philosophy on happiness begins by classifying the way in which one's identity is reinforced. Luky uses bigger, more clinical-sounding words, but at the end of the day I think they generally add up to something like "reinforce." And in Luky's analysis, it's about whether we see ourselves as beings who Are, Have, or Do.
Yes, of course I ask him what the hell he's talking about, but the best I can gather is it comes down to seeing our lives as more fulfilled by reinforcement to our "Being," (our concept of self as a combination of our personal attributes); or our "Having," (the concept of self as a collection of what we own or acquire); or our "Doing," (the concept of self as a sum of our endeavors).
Well, the bottom line of the morning was that I had to listen to Luky describe the balance of these operative principles in the construction of identity and happiness. Luky says he's changed his mind on the formula. He used to think that creatures who drew reinforcement from Doing stuff were on a faster track to happiness and contentment than those who desired reinforcement to their Being or Having. Now he's decided that those balances are not fixed. He thinks that his own contentment with life today is not as much about Doing as it once was - it now includes elements of Being and Having. For example, he says, he used to think of himself as the wolf-looking creature who marked daily territory and stood guard over three whole blocks of Virginia Highlands. Now he thinks of himself in terms of Having lots of friends and Being a gentle example to his canine and human extended family.
I asked a couple of questions, but I could tell that this morning was going to be a monologue from the start. Some of what he said made sense, but I think lots of it just inspired more confusion on my part. It didn't matter, Luky seemed confident that he was Doing a good job of explaining the way happiness works. And he delighted in his observation that Louis did not think of himself AS a breakdancer, but rather, as one who BREAKDANCES.
"Okay," I said, as we walked into the elevator, "does that also mean that he thinks of himself as one who Has breakdancing skill?"
Luky turned sideways in the elevator car and looked at me with forgiving eyes . . . "You just don't get it, do you?"
I was concentrating on my own version of biofeedback - that is, trying to think-push 200 milligrams of caffeine through my bloodstream as quickly as possible. Louis (pronounced, "Louie") and Gracie (two Papillons who live down the hall from me and Luky) were dancing on the corner. Gracie is the picture of 4-legged decorum, but her brother is a breakdancer. They are great neighbors, and Luky says he really hopes Louis gets a chance to turn pro one of these days soon.
Whether it was breakdancing or a morning of rich olfaction, Luky was full of thoughts on happiness. He says that happiness and contentment are the same thing when it comes to mood and identity . . . that when we say someone (and he says it's the same for humans) is discontent, we mean they are unhappy - at least, when we are not talking about a particular existential circumstance, like running out of Milk-Bones.
(By the way, forgive the endorsement, but Luky says I HAVE to put the link to the Milk-Bone website in here - he says there are lots of dog treats out there and lots of humans make their own macrobioscous, vegetarious stuff, but Luky says he loves Milk-Bones and thinks they can't be beat - so, I have to go along - www.milk-bone.com.)
Anyway, his whole philosophy on happiness begins by classifying the way in which one's identity is reinforced. Luky uses bigger, more clinical-sounding words, but at the end of the day I think they generally add up to something like "reinforce." And in Luky's analysis, it's about whether we see ourselves as beings who Are, Have, or Do.
Yes, of course I ask him what the hell he's talking about, but the best I can gather is it comes down to seeing our lives as more fulfilled by reinforcement to our "Being," (our concept of self as a combination of our personal attributes); or our "Having," (the concept of self as a collection of what we own or acquire); or our "Doing," (the concept of self as a sum of our endeavors).
Well, the bottom line of the morning was that I had to listen to Luky describe the balance of these operative principles in the construction of identity and happiness. Luky says he's changed his mind on the formula. He used to think that creatures who drew reinforcement from Doing stuff were on a faster track to happiness and contentment than those who desired reinforcement to their Being or Having. Now he's decided that those balances are not fixed. He thinks that his own contentment with life today is not as much about Doing as it once was - it now includes elements of Being and Having. For example, he says, he used to think of himself as the wolf-looking creature who marked daily territory and stood guard over three whole blocks of Virginia Highlands. Now he thinks of himself in terms of Having lots of friends and Being a gentle example to his canine and human extended family.
I asked a couple of questions, but I could tell that this morning was going to be a monologue from the start. Some of what he said made sense, but I think lots of it just inspired more confusion on my part. It didn't matter, Luky seemed confident that he was Doing a good job of explaining the way happiness works. And he delighted in his observation that Louis did not think of himself AS a breakdancer, but rather, as one who BREAKDANCES.
"Okay," I said, as we walked into the elevator, "does that also mean that he thinks of himself as one who Has breakdancing skill?"
Luky turned sideways in the elevator car and looked at me with forgiving eyes . . . "You just don't get it, do you?"
posted by RAM at 9:13 AM
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