We (Patrick & I, your unashamedly irreverent hosts) just celebrated our 31st episode of Zen Is Stupid (a weekly podcast on whatever we think up that week and decide to talk about). Don’t know why 31 is important to me, but the episode is about Happiness which coincides with my most recent blog post. And seems to be a recurrent question in my life. Are there happiness set points? Why are we constantly comparing our happiness levels to folks around us? What is your happiness level? Or do you have one?
We talk about flow states this episode and I wanted to link up to Csikszentmihalyi because we totally butchered his name.
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Happiness is so subjective to each person and their own lives, and that’s what makes it a hard topic to speak generally about. Maybe happiness is solely a temporary thing that comes and goes - which sounds obvious, but people refer to things such as “having a happy life,” etc, but I don’t know how one would go about assessing what a happy life would be.
Personally I don’t find any value in judging my own life in these terms. I don’t want to be thinking about whether my life is a “happy” one or a “sad” one because it’s probably neither. I sometimes feel happy and sometimes feel sad, but both of those feelings fade with time.
Incidentally, one of the most ‘flow’ states I’ve ever been in was in my freshman year Gym class. I’m not athletic at all, but I was working hard at basketball to preserve my team’s undefeated status, and that physical “now-ness” of trying to win the game, and working my body out intensely, was absolutely beautiful (and unexpected).
I love Zen is Stupid. I’m gonna get “Gwen and Patrick” tattooed on my back.
Zen is Stupid is the awesomest!
Hi,
Just wanted to say that you and Patrick have become my “virtual car pool” in the mornings as i zip along 470.
Especially loved the podcast i listened to today about “Zen and the art of” - i totally agree with you about the “Zen is cool” tag that gets stuck on anything to make it more hip or to sell tons of product.
On a daily basis i hear people outside my office talking about how such and such is “Sooooo Zen” - and i just thing *sheeesh* - i feel like commenting to them along the lines of what you guys were talking about but never do - hee hee, maybe i should leave post its near their offices with links to this episode of the podcast :)
Keep up the awesome podcast you guys! I like having you onboard on my morning commute. (Sorry - but the drive home’s reserved for Lemmy and Motorhead :)
I just started listening to Zen is Stupid three weeks ago, I’m not quite caught up to episode 31 yet. Its a great podcast, thanks for putting it out there.
take care,
Greg
Thanks, everyone! We are running out of things to talk about, so please send us an email and give us some ideas. zenisstupid (at) gmail (dot) com. We’ll let people know it was you that gave us the idea if we decide to use one (unless you want to be anonymous, of course).
The future of Zen is Stupid is in your hands! ;)