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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2007-08 Rotary Year : Issue 18 : 4 April 2008 |
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is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong |
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| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan |
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Editorial
(Question
of Happiness) - By Francis Wann |
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District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship |
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Question of Happiness
Last week saw Taiwan¡¦s Ma Yingjeou back in the limelight after winning the presidential election, Bhutanese going to the polls for the first time after more than a century of absolute monarchy, and not too far away, the problems with Tibet continued, and the start of the Olympic torch marathon. Well what¡¦s amazing is not all those much anticipated Olympic carnivals everywhere; it¡¦s the fact that Bhutan has become the latest democracy on earth. Bhutan is about fifty times the size of Hong Kong and with a population size similar to our Kwun Tong, and the average income there is less than one dollar. But Bhutan is probably the happiest place in the world, at least they believe so. It¡¦s way beyond most people¡¦s expectations even if our definitions of happiness might vary. How come these people of a country where television was only introduced at late as 1992 and where computer technology is almost unheard of, and where universal suffrage was never an issue, have found the secret to happiness? While most governments are concerned about economic supremacy and political clout, this remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is more concerned about the pursuit of happiness. And they mean business: while we¡¦re talking about Gross National Products, Bhutan has introduced GNH (Gross National Happiness) as an official index on which major Government decisions are based. Rotarians are generally regarded as leading business professionals however you may interpret, and I guess one of the many reasons why we¡¦ve chosen to become Rotarians is that helping others would bring us happiness, or that we internalize the joy and satisfaction of giving. But what would you say to those who are poor but contented, and apparently much happier than we are? Is happiness after all something of a mystery, or is it statistically measureable? In almost all international surveys on happiness, Hong Kong always lags far behind. In July 2006, Vanuatu topped the Happy Planet index and Zimbabwe was the last. These people have at least one thing in common ¡V poverty . Is it about time we all got out and said no to commercialism, consumerism, advertising, high definition television, committees, the stock market, iPods, or perhaps the internet where you receive this editorial? Nietzsche the 19th century philosopher once wrote about his recipe of happiness: ¡§ Yes. No. A straight line¡¨. Vanuatu has proved to the world that it¡¦s not necessary to use up the Earth¡¦s resources to achieve happiness. As editor Marke Lowen of Vanuatu Online said, ¡§people are generally happy because they are satisfied with very little¡¨. Legislator Martin Lee has finally decided to call it a day. Maybe he¡¦s got other ways to pursue happiness and his ideology. Elsewhere outside the Chamber, folks are still busy rallying hysterically. There is no easy answer my friend. But we still tend to believe in our Rotary motto of Service Above Self. Amid turbulence and uncertainties in a world obsessed with figures and reports, we have at least found something to cling on. Happy All Fools Day. |
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From
the Charter President
Aristotle has been attributed as having said, "Happiness, whether consisting in pleasure or virtue, or both, is more often found with those who are highly cultivated in their minds and in their character, and have only a moderate share of external goods, than among those who possess external goods to a useless extent but are deficient in higher qualities." Rather wordy, I think, which is why I prefer what the Tin Woodman in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz said, "I shall take the heart... for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world." Rotarians would remember Cliff Dochtermann's theme, "Happiness is Helping Others" which is simple, practical and easy to understand. Let us hear from Helen Keller. She said in 1903, "Most people measure their happiness in terms of physical pleasure and material possession. Could they win some visible goal which they have set on the horizon, how happy they could be! Lacking this gift or that circumstance, they would be miserable. If happiness is to be so measured, I who cannot hear or see have every reason to sit in a corner with folded hands and weep. If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life, - if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing." Later, in 1933, she simplified that in one line, "A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships" and went on to say that "Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." I like Schulz's (Peanuts) "Happiness is a warm puppy." I'll give you a few more, for good measures. From Shakespeare, "Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have." From Oscar Wilde, "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go." And from Bertrand Russell, "The secret of happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible, horrible, horrible." Wikipedia has an article on happiness which includes reference to religions and spitituality, suggesting that these people are less prone to depression and hence happier. Siddhartha Gautama had everything in the world that would have made him happy, but he was not and at 29 went to the forest to look for happiness, or a path to remove the causes of sufferings. He found the path after six years. He became the Enlightened One, free from the fetters or chattels of birth, suffering, death and rebirth and attained Nirvana. He then began to teach what he discovered, but stressed that he had not invented those teachings. Indeed, the mainstream religions all suggest that one has to be free to be happy, which could explain why the wealthy are generally not happy. Zen Buddhism discusses emptiness, which can be looked upon as a state of freedom, but slightly more profound. In Christianity, Jesus conquered Death through dying on the cross. After His Ressurrection, His disciples were filled with faith and the Holy Spirit such that they were not afraid to be persecuted or put to death. Indeed, the scriptures say they were happy to have had the honour to suffer in the name of Christ. Manu cultures have their unique of honouring the dead, in particular the ancestors. We talk of Happy Easter, but we seldom talk of Happy Ching Ming. I wonder why; and on that note I wish you all had a Happy Ching Ming Festival. |
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Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. |
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President :
Marvin Lai |
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