If you had to choose between Truth or Happiness (page 3)

dh

hi everyone, thanks for the replies, it's been interesting to read! let me clear up what i mean about truth and the happiness

truth, not fundamentally in a religious sense, but that all the things you have questions about WILL be answered, you will know absolutely where space ends and be able to comprehend all infinite things, you will be able to percieve all things out of time, and look up and down time and see it all, your eyes opened and you will see as if through the eyes of a higher being, you will have no power, only the answers and truths, and for it you sacrifice everything you have now and step into the unknown... there's no going back, do you really think you could go back to normal life after recieving such a revelation?

by happiness i mean total happiness, as if you had never ever known anything different, as if suddenly you awoke from a dream you were in the real world, and all of this was just your imagination... whatever your perfect happiness is, you would have it, and it would be real because the feeling would be real and happiness is a feeling.

of course the question is totally hypothetical, but it's interesting that so many dive straight for truth thinking that with it you will find happiness, (i have no idea why) but don't forget the price of this truth was to leave behind everything you know forever, husbands, wives, kids, and there are no goodbyes, because of the magnitude of this truth and it being so beyond the human mind, you would probably to evolve into what is fundamentally a different species to the rest of mankind, 'your eyes would be opened'... perhaps once knowing the absolute truth you would be so horrified that you will take your own life, you don't know until you try, if you try.

did anyone who answered truth consider the downside, how lonely it would be to be the only one who knew the answers but was unable to share them? what it would be like if you chose truth and remained unhappy? the feelings of those you left behind? this truth is a lonely road.

i guess my question is; is wanting to know absolute truth worth the risk or is happiness good enough?

do you still answer yes?

for myself even in my happiest moment i would choose truth, even if it destroyed me, but perhaps if i were in a position as descender said, and my world consisted of more than just me, perhaps i wouldn't be so selfish and would choose the happiness, though if it were here and now, or any time in my life so far, i would choose truth.

darkuncle29

Hapiness.

My real goal in life is not happiness, but contentment. Not a static or stagnant contentment, but a flowing continuous Tao.

patio34

I would absolutely choose . . . happiness! Based on your definitions and conditions, of course What would your choice be?

Pat

Satanus

Funny. My childhood and teen yrs were anything but happy. Depression like you couldn't imagine. I grew up looking for happiness. In my late teens, i stepped out of the wt to experience the 'worldly' party mode in persuit of happiness. That didn't do it for me. Instead, i got into trouble. So, when it was over, i went back to the wt.

I applied everything just as much as i could, and there were times that i did feel happy, at least comparatively. But that faded after a decade or so, burnt out, so to speak.

I also persued knowledge while in the wt, even though the manger was practically bare. Since leaving, i've been relentless in trying to understand what is going on. Some knowledge did come out of that. Knowledge seems to lead to freedom, but not necesarily to happiness.

I have realised that happiness doesn't come from the outside; from stuff, or people, or knowledge, or power. I have noticed that some people tend to be happy, no matter what. Others tend to be down no matter what. Happiness seems to come from inside oneself. That's where i'm looking now.

SS

pseudoxristos

The ultimate answer to any question I might have sounds appealing at first. But then, I?m not sure I want to know everything. The intimate details of how those close to me eventually die is not something that I would like to know (not to mention knowledge of my own death). The details of all those who have suffered throughout Mankind?s existence would be far too much to bear.

Truth in small doses is great, but ultimate Truth would be too painful. Give me Happiness.

Pseudo

...Man is a stranger to his own research;

He knows not whence he comes, nor whither goes.

Tormented atoms in a bed of mud,

Devoured by death, a mockery of fate.

But thinking atoms, whose far-seeing eyes,

Guided by thought, have measured the faint stars,

Our being mingles with the infinite;

Ouselves we never see, or come to know... --Voltaire--

seeitallclearlynow

The second choice, any day. We already tried the first one.

What is this, tryouts for the Matrix?

Or Men in Black III?

frenchbabyface

If I'm interested in how we are here, but not really in why we are here (on earth) I need a reason to live, and this reason can't only be hapiness.

To me, living in this world means sharing, and sharing induce feelings and even if only good feelings on different degrees or ways to make sens, whish are related to the relationships (even with ourselves - cause we do have a relationship with ourselves) ... SO HOW FUTIL COULD BE PERPUTUAL HAPINESS WITHOUT KNOWING WHY (to me) ... Tell me about PERPETUAL CREATIVITY and I might be interested in this one if it was this only one (because it make sense to me) but that means that I need the truth to have a reason to be happy and feel good for REAL. Othervwise I'm ok to be dead ... I don't feel like to be here just to dreaming ...

avengers

Ignorance is bliss.
So bliss is for the ignorant.
Be a happy ignoramus.
Do not ask questions just do as you're told,
and say please.

Yes Mommy GB, no Mommy GB, Just get out there and make hours for
your loving GOD. You will be happy only if you do as I say.

I'll take happiness. I will go back to the hall and repent.
I'm sorry for all the things I have done. I'm sorry for being
an apostate. Bad, bad me.
I will never again speak against the WT our Mother.
Never again shall I speak of her whoring, her lying.
I will become just like her, the big example.

Yeah Right!

All joking aside. I don't know.

Andy

Narkissos

If I replace truth and happiness with knowledge and life respectively, I find the story of Genesis 2--3, with its Near Eastern (and perhaps universal) background. The tragedy of man -- my tragedy also -- is that we will always, ultimately, choose knowledge against life. As Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 1:18 has it, "In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow". The desire of knowledge is basically linked with death urge, but we just cannot get rid of it.

Curiously enough I was thinking about something similar yesterday: I cannot say I am happier than before (when I was a JW for instance), still I can't regret any of the steps I made because it was always grounded with increased knowledge.

Culturally we mostly associate the desire of knowing in spite of death with man (Adam), and the desire of living in spite of knowledge with woman (Eve) -- but in fact both are part of every individual, man or woman (as the very interesting answers to this thread clearly show).

frenchbabyface

Narkissos : In much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow". The desire of knowledge is basically linked with death urge, but we just cannot get rid of it.

I'm not sure I agree with that ... to me, the desire of knoledge is linked to creativity (ideas) and sensitivity (feelings) ... whish lead to what the actors sow good or bad ... this a question of result/consequence ... and it's a question of mentality, I think ...

If you had to choose between Truth or Happiness

Share this