Zbliżając się do wystawy w poznańskiej galerii Arsenał chcielibyśmy przypomnieć o powstałych w ramach projektu W Poszukiwaniu Szczęścia tekstach. W każdy kolejny piątek bedziemy zamieszczać na blogu jeden z tekstów, który był opublikowany w publikacji w The Pursuit of Happiness w październiku 2009.
W tym tygodniu publikujemy tekst Adama Goodwina.
Przepraszamy, tekst na chwilę obecną dostępny tylko w wersji angielskojęzycznej.
As we are getting closer to the exhibition at the Arsenał Gallery in Poznań, we would like to look back into The Pursuit of Happiness Project's past. Every Friday starting from today we are going to publish on the blog one of the texts that were included in The Pursuit of Happiness publication in October 2009.
This week - a text on happiness by Adam Goodwin.
You can very rarely go beyond the beyond in life. Of course people may be inclined to try and this is reflected most in our childhood and teenage years where dreams of flight and other such impossible, yet fanciful thoughts, can be found dominating a young mind. As age takes its inevitable hold these dreams are transported into the more normal modes of life that most people recognise as everyday; New Years resolutions that never last longer than two weeks or radical career changes that one imagines will bring fortitude to an otherwise shaky existence. Perhaps the most unlikely culprit of all this, the motivation that we are told to embrace, is happiness. Happiness is the ultimate in frustrating objectives, it’s supposed transcendental properties only serve to confuse and obscure that which it is trying to rise above. Happiness is the beyond, it is the eternal earthbound goal of humankind and it scares us. Throughout life happiness clings to, and dominates, the mind. It is the foundation from which our dreams are built and it is the graveyard in which we hope our dreams will lie. Yet although it seems like such an innocent and altruistic ambition, something that we should all try and achieve, it leads to confusion and chaos. Constructing a happy life is impossible when the definition of the word is wrought in such futility.
Daily life is wrapped up in and completely engulfed by happiness. This sole objective courses through the veins of nearly every living human being in the developed world and seeks solace in the everyday activities of these people who try and maintain regular normality with society in the hope that others will perceive them as being happy. The day has been complicated by the petty achievements of man, we are far too concerned with how well we are doing and how far we have come, to see that thought cannot truly exist until you remove all of the trappings of a society filled with people who are devoid of the ability to better themselves from within. They assume that happiness should be their ultimate goal; you will not be able to convince them that in many ways it is evil and it is poisoning our society. For most people happiness is measured by what others think, they have become too attached with professing a sense of achievement through comparison with those around them. One can compliment another, and in this way make the person happy. It is a sort of self-convincing technique that we are all guilty of because when someone is perceived to be happy, they feel happiness themselves and this being the ‘ultimate’ goal of our society they stop striving for anything more. Their head becomes filled with the links between them and those around them, their brain can no longer comprehend a host of more important questions and actions because they have stepped into a quagmire created by man to keep man on the straight and narrow. Happiness is measured through the interaction with others rather than themselves. It drives people in completely the wrong direction; they forget their own thoughts in place of thoughts for others. They fight to maintain equilibrium in society by filling their heads with the immediate desire to be happy. They forget themselves entirely and base their lives on what others have built before them.
In a complete paradox the night provides a calming bastion of progressive thought. The association of the night with evil serves to transcend the pursuit of happiness and instead forces people to search for reason and truth. However far from being evil and neglectful it allows for thought to flow freely without interruption from all the mental and physical demands that the day brings. The night enables one to unfold their brain into the world without risking the danger of polluting their thoughts with those of the people around them. The world is at peace in the hours of darkness that serve to shroud man’s achievements in a calming veil. Whilst cities lay sleeping one can appreciate the true beauty of human kind through inflection of thought. These hours are no longer a motivation for development and success but for clear and rational thought that has the ability to destroy perception and strip back all the insecurities that define our society and the way we live our lives. The darkness, the inactivity, the quiet, the barren; all these things catalyse lucid thought and enable a different state of mind where one can forget about their fellow Man and instead concentrate on themselves. One can almost gain a kind of power of perceptive vision that enables them to see through the shroud and appreciate life in an entirely different state of mind. A state of mind that doesn’t require the compliments of others to achieve greatness or solidarity within themselves. A state of mind that doesn’t strive for happiness as people perceive it today, but instead strives for the ability to build a strong foundation from within, a foundation that cannot be rocked or shattered by the useless comments of those who fight so vainly to maintain their reputation amongst others.
Happiness is not some unachievable magical aspiration however it is so amazing and impossibly fantastic that the brain can’t entirely comprehend it. It shouldn’t necessarily be ingrained in us that happiness is this all-encompassing necessity of life. Perhaps a better solution would be to remove the importance of it so that it is merely an unexpected by-product of our actions, serving to reward our good decisions rather than frighten our fragile thoughts.
O autorze:/ About the author:
Adam Goodwin (ur. w 1985) studiował historię ze specjalizacją w historii społecznej. W Manchesterze był organizatorem licznych eventów łączących muzykę i sztukę. Obecnie mieszka w Londynie i zajmuje się pisaniem tekstów krytycznych. Adam pracuje również nad książką dotyczącą debaty społecznej, która będzie zbiorem krótkich historii.
Adam Goodwin (b.1985) graduated from university in History, specialising in social history. After organising a number of events combining music and art in Manchester he moved to London to pursue a career in the creative arts whilst focusing on critical writing. He is currently writing a book on social discourse and compiling a publication of short stories.
W tym tygodniu publikujemy tekst Adama Goodwina.
Przepraszamy, tekst na chwilę obecną dostępny tylko w wersji angielskojęzycznej.
As we are getting closer to the exhibition at the Arsenał Gallery in Poznań, we would like to look back into The Pursuit of Happiness Project's past. Every Friday starting from today we are going to publish on the blog one of the texts that were included in The Pursuit of Happiness publication in October 2009.
This week - a text on happiness by Adam Goodwin.
You can very rarely go beyond the beyond in life. Of course people may be inclined to try and this is reflected most in our childhood and teenage years where dreams of flight and other such impossible, yet fanciful thoughts, can be found dominating a young mind. As age takes its inevitable hold these dreams are transported into the more normal modes of life that most people recognise as everyday; New Years resolutions that never last longer than two weeks or radical career changes that one imagines will bring fortitude to an otherwise shaky existence. Perhaps the most unlikely culprit of all this, the motivation that we are told to embrace, is happiness. Happiness is the ultimate in frustrating objectives, it’s supposed transcendental properties only serve to confuse and obscure that which it is trying to rise above. Happiness is the beyond, it is the eternal earthbound goal of humankind and it scares us. Throughout life happiness clings to, and dominates, the mind. It is the foundation from which our dreams are built and it is the graveyard in which we hope our dreams will lie. Yet although it seems like such an innocent and altruistic ambition, something that we should all try and achieve, it leads to confusion and chaos. Constructing a happy life is impossible when the definition of the word is wrought in such futility.
Daily life is wrapped up in and completely engulfed by happiness. This sole objective courses through the veins of nearly every living human being in the developed world and seeks solace in the everyday activities of these people who try and maintain regular normality with society in the hope that others will perceive them as being happy. The day has been complicated by the petty achievements of man, we are far too concerned with how well we are doing and how far we have come, to see that thought cannot truly exist until you remove all of the trappings of a society filled with people who are devoid of the ability to better themselves from within. They assume that happiness should be their ultimate goal; you will not be able to convince them that in many ways it is evil and it is poisoning our society. For most people happiness is measured by what others think, they have become too attached with professing a sense of achievement through comparison with those around them. One can compliment another, and in this way make the person happy. It is a sort of self-convincing technique that we are all guilty of because when someone is perceived to be happy, they feel happiness themselves and this being the ‘ultimate’ goal of our society they stop striving for anything more. Their head becomes filled with the links between them and those around them, their brain can no longer comprehend a host of more important questions and actions because they have stepped into a quagmire created by man to keep man on the straight and narrow. Happiness is measured through the interaction with others rather than themselves. It drives people in completely the wrong direction; they forget their own thoughts in place of thoughts for others. They fight to maintain equilibrium in society by filling their heads with the immediate desire to be happy. They forget themselves entirely and base their lives on what others have built before them.
In a complete paradox the night provides a calming bastion of progressive thought. The association of the night with evil serves to transcend the pursuit of happiness and instead forces people to search for reason and truth. However far from being evil and neglectful it allows for thought to flow freely without interruption from all the mental and physical demands that the day brings. The night enables one to unfold their brain into the world without risking the danger of polluting their thoughts with those of the people around them. The world is at peace in the hours of darkness that serve to shroud man’s achievements in a calming veil. Whilst cities lay sleeping one can appreciate the true beauty of human kind through inflection of thought. These hours are no longer a motivation for development and success but for clear and rational thought that has the ability to destroy perception and strip back all the insecurities that define our society and the way we live our lives. The darkness, the inactivity, the quiet, the barren; all these things catalyse lucid thought and enable a different state of mind where one can forget about their fellow Man and instead concentrate on themselves. One can almost gain a kind of power of perceptive vision that enables them to see through the shroud and appreciate life in an entirely different state of mind. A state of mind that doesn’t require the compliments of others to achieve greatness or solidarity within themselves. A state of mind that doesn’t strive for happiness as people perceive it today, but instead strives for the ability to build a strong foundation from within, a foundation that cannot be rocked or shattered by the useless comments of those who fight so vainly to maintain their reputation amongst others.
Happiness is not some unachievable magical aspiration however it is so amazing and impossibly fantastic that the brain can’t entirely comprehend it. It shouldn’t necessarily be ingrained in us that happiness is this all-encompassing necessity of life. Perhaps a better solution would be to remove the importance of it so that it is merely an unexpected by-product of our actions, serving to reward our good decisions rather than frighten our fragile thoughts.
O autorze:/ About the author:
Adam Goodwin (ur. w 1985) studiował historię ze specjalizacją w historii społecznej. W Manchesterze był organizatorem licznych eventów łączących muzykę i sztukę. Obecnie mieszka w Londynie i zajmuje się pisaniem tekstów krytycznych. Adam pracuje również nad książką dotyczącą debaty społecznej, która będzie zbiorem krótkich historii.
Adam Goodwin (b.1985) graduated from university in History, specialising in social history. After organising a number of events combining music and art in Manchester he moved to London to pursue a career in the creative arts whilst focusing on critical writing. He is currently writing a book on social discourse and compiling a publication of short stories.
