Don't worry, be happy!

Happiness can be formulated and calculated! That's something which can be called scientific attitude to life. We can not stand that obscure state of unhappiness, can we? So we must decode what on earth contributes to the state of happiness. I'm happy that we still can't demystify the formula of happiness, and I'm delighted to know that today, the 20th of June is the happiest day in this year.

Here is how it's been calculated:

The equation is: O + (N xS) + Cpm/T + He.

O stands for being outdoors and outdoor activity, N is connection with nature, which is in full bloom now, S is socialisation with neighbours and friends, Cpm stands for childhood positive memories, T is the mean temperature which is now usually warm, and He is holiday expected.
According to Cliff Arnall, a psychologist and former tutor at Cardiff University, this formula's aim is to 'get people talking about what makes them happy'.

Good rationale indeed! Check for yourself and find out which day is your happiest day.

Are you happy? This is the question being asked to all sorts of people in China again and again by a voice out in a documentary, and the answer is various. Some Chinese scholars are also quite concerned about this issue, as a survey recently being released about how happy Chinese are has caught the attention of the media. To tell someone exactly how happy I am is really a daunting task, so there is a kind of list of questions detailing the aspects from the material well-being to the balance of mind and body.

It’s odd to think that my happiness could be quantified as 0.6 comparing to fullness of one, or 60% to the perfect happiness. There is also another way to describe the result of the survey, such as 30% of those being asked say that they are quite happy about their lives. Those who are not happy have various reasons, such as no house, no money for medical treatment, or too difficult to afford child’s tuition. If all these problems are being solved, are we supposed to be happy? Probably.

Once I was asked what was the most important thing in my life. I replied, hope. At that time I thought life would be dead without hope, but the respond from the inquirer is happiness. His reason is without happiness, life is meaningless. Now I still hold that happiness is elusive, but hope’s better alternative is probably desire. Benevolent governance should strive for the goal that could constantly stimulate the desire of the people, no matter what it is, within the law.

In a park nearby, there are always some retired people, who would gather to sing some old songs in 1950s or 60s, generally related to that passionate Mao era. These words in the songs are always red-tinted, by the melodies are quite romantic. I would be surprised each time I see such a scene that how the meaning of such songs are faded away as that specific time is gone, but their sounds have retained the power to heal these oldies, elevating them temporarily to the height of the pleasure no other means could. Who knows, probably the truth of happiness lies in such singing of the past, whole heartedly without even reflecting the hardness of life these songs once symbolized.