We are living in the world of "Synthetic Happiness"

We are living in the electronic age, where technology over powers emotions. There were times, when being happy was a part of life irrespective of hardships we faced. Alas with the changing times, I believe most of us are chasing happiness.

Couple of years ago I was talking this person who was unhappy with how things were turning out in his life. Giving you a little insight on his background, he had a degree in engineering, an expensive car, a decent job and luxurious life. I wouldn’t say that earning money shall suffice, but I think he was at least leading a better life than many others. Anyways coming back to his story, I asked him curiously as to what was bothering him. And he started telling me how passionate he was about playing hockey, how neither his family nor his friends stood by him to help him pursue what he wanted, how some others are living a “happy life” doing what they want and he never got a chance to live his life the way he wished for.

Here is another story that I have come across recently on Internet. There were two students traveling in an auto-rickshaw, they were discussing some Engineering topics and surprisingly the driver helped them get a better understanding of the subject by explaining them briefly. So in turn the students asked them how he was familiar with what they were talking about? And the answer was quick; he was an engineering graduate too. When they asked him if he was not remorseful about working as an auto driver being a graduate? His answer was straight and simple; life is not about what you want, it is about what you have and how you want to perceive it.

In both the stories, people were doing something that they were never wistful about. But the only difference was their choice and vision. In the first story the person never wanted to accept what he had, instead was sulking about his unwinnable past. Unlike in the second story the person may have suffered for a while but accepted the fate and acted wisely to get along with present situations. Even in our daily conversations, there are instances where people have a “satisfying” and “fulfilling” lifestyle (both physical and mental, of course there are some shortcomings but life is not a cake walk after all) yet they complain about something that they DON’T have (or may be it is about something what others have).

Content and Happiness have become “synthetic” rather than “natural”. I say synthetic because we want to create a situation to feel good. Simplest example as such is posting our happy moments on social website. We may do that to re-live our moments or may be we want everyone to know how happy we are :p Beyond doubt I feel people who have everything or at least something yearn for synthetic happiness. There are several others out there who have nothing or who strive hard for earning even single meal a day, but still the smallest of occasions gives them “natural” happiness; may be because they don’t expect something that they don’t have.