{"id":37912,"date":"2017-05-06T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2017-05-06T19:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=37912"},"modified":"2017-05-06T18:39:30","modified_gmt":"2017-05-07T01:39:30","slug":"how-to-live-a-happy-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/06\/how-to-live-a-happy-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Live a Happy Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I want to write you a letter on how to live a happy life:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. What is happiness?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

First of all, what is a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchappy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 life?<\/p>\n

Seneca<\/a> define happiness as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcPeace of mind, and lasting tranquility.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

This is much different from modern definitions of \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchappiness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d which seem to be more related around excitement and pleasure.<\/p>\n

2. Happiness is achieved through subtraction<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If we accept Seneca\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definition of happiness as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpeace of mind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclasting tranquility\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d happiness is a negative concept.<\/p>\n

For example, happiness is not<\/em> being mentally disturbed, happiness is not<\/em> having fear, happiness is not<\/em> having anxiety.<\/p>\n

Happiness is not<\/em> worrying, not<\/em> being frustrated, and not<\/em> being a slave.<\/p>\n

Therefore, happiness is achieved from subtraction, rather than addition.<\/p>\n

So instead of seeking to do<\/em> things in life to make us happy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d what are things we should avoid<\/em> to help us find \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchappiness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in life?<\/p>\n

3. Peace of mind<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For me, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really have peace of mind. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always worried about my finances, my future, Cindy, my future kids, my family, etc.<\/p>\n

For a long time, I thought seeking \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchappiness\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 was to do exciting things. To travel, to do fun things, to explore, to meet friends, and to party.<\/p>\n

But in reality, I think what I was really seeking is to have peace of mind. To have freedom from worry, anxiety<\/a>, and death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once I started to train myself to stop<\/em> worrying so much in life \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I started to thrive creatively. I stopped caring as much what others thought of me. I stopped worrying about my finances. I stopped worrying about being criticized.<\/p>\n

This helped me creatively flourish \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and helps give me the focus to do \u00e2\u20ac\u02dchonorable industry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 through writing, teaching, sharing information, and being a loving person.<\/p>\n

What are things which interrupt your \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpeace of mind\u00e2\u20ac\u2122? Seek to subtract those things.<\/p>\n

4. Lasting Tranquility<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What I think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to achieve in life is stillness. Imagine a Zen pond. Someone throws a rock in it. Ripples appear. Then if you wait, the ripples go away. There is nothing but still, clear, unpolluted water.<\/p>\n

I am trying to achieve lasting tranquility, by making it a daily practice to find peace, contentment, and zen<\/a> in my life. I do this by subtracting from my desires, my wants, my fears, and my negative emotions.<\/p>\n

We cannot achieve peace and freedom of mind for free. There are a lot of things we must sacrifice, like money, fame, power, and influence\u00e2\u20ac\u201d in order to find our own personal sanctuary of peace.<\/p>\n

Freedom can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be bought for nothing.<\/p>\n

5. How to find tranquility<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To sum up, to live a happy life, the first pre-requisite is to eliminate fears, desires, wants, anxieties, and any form of mental disturbance.<\/p>\n

Find what works for you. Here are some things I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done in my life:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Wander and shoot street photography<\/a><\/strong>: I know for me, walking and shooting street photography is a good way for me to empty my mind. When I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m walking aimlessly, taking photos, and interacting with people on the streets\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I no longer worry about money, fame, or anything else. I am fully in the moment. Street photography for me is like walking meditation.<\/li>\n
  2. Do yoga<\/strong>: I have done yoga with Cindy for the last 4 years or so. I always feel resistance before going, but when I finally get in the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dczone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I love the feeling of release of tension in my muscles and mind.<\/li>\n
  3. Deadlift<\/strong>: I see powerlifting (deadlifts, squats, and bench-press) as a form of Zen-meditation; not just getting buff. When I am focusing my mind and my muscles to lift my \u00e2\u20ac\u01531-rep maximum\u00e2\u20ac\u009d – my mind goes blank. I feel a split-second where my consciousness is detached from my body. I remember the first time I deadlifted 405 pounds, I had an out-of-body experience, with no thoughts of death.<\/li>\n
  4. Read<\/strong>: Whenever I read philosophy<\/a> or books, I feel elevated. I no longer worry about my petty body, my petty concerns\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I feel my mind becoming strengthened, less anxious, and less worried. I see all these master philosophers from the past as my personal guides and teachers. They are some of the best company, who help soothe my personal anxieties\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and encourage me to find \u00e2\u20ac\u02dclasting tranquility\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in my life.<\/li>\n
  5. Spending time with friends and family<\/strong>: Honestly, there is nothing better for the soul than good laughs, good food, and quality time with friends and family. Whenever I am worried about anything, I share my worries with close friends\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and they help re-assure me. When I am with family, I feel utterly joyful, without any pain or worries. I know everything will be ok.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    There are tons of other ways you can find more peace and tranquility in your mind. You can go on a walk with your dog, you can meditate, you can read or write, you can take photos, you can play sports, watch engaging films, or anything which soothes your soul.<\/p>\n

    Let us focus on escaping anxiety and fears in life \u00e2\u20ac\u201d then we can truly do our life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the work which we were meant to do.<\/p>\n

    Always,
    \nEric<\/p>\n

    Learn more: Philosophy ><\/a><\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Cindy’s mom and Cindy in Hanoi, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Dear friend, I want to write you a letter on how to live a happy life:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49517,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Suits-1.jpg?fit=2000%2C1326&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}