Are You Happily Miserable?
Happily miserable: play on words? I beg not, at least not for those of us who seemingly thrive on drama, confusion, and conflict (and we’ve all encountered them). It’s as if life can’t be happy unless turmoil plays a role. Peace, stability, and tranquility are but alien words to the happily miserable person, who craves mayhem at every turn, lest boredom and listlessness get the better of them.
Mad, isn’t it? Of course, but tell that to the happily miserable person and we’re bound to get a rebuke that makes Genghis Khan look like a saint. Denial is a major trait as who admits to being miserable? And even more so, who admits to enjoying it? That is, if the happily miserable person recognizes their miserableness.
French writer and philosopher Francois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), known by his pen name Voltaire, wrote that “Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.”
And yes, for the happily miserable person, all is well when they’re miserable. A life without turmoil is boring, uninteresting, and downright annoying. How can anyone be happy when satisfied and at peace, they ask? There’s nothing like a ‘healthy’ conflict and never a dull moment is their motto.
At first encounter, a happily miserable person often seems exciting, especially for those of us accustomed to the ‘boredom’ of contentment and stability. But as the rush wears off, and the veneer thins, the happily miserable person shows what they truly are: empty souls not knowing whence they came, and whereto they go (see Self-Respect and the Empty Soul). Lost in self-absorbed worlds, the void is unbearable and the need for stimulation incessant. And drama and conflict are the much-needed stimulation that release them from an otherwise shallow, vain, and dark existence.
Fall into this downward-spiraling trap, and the negativity is addictive and contagious. It takes hold and its chains are hard to break free from. Turmoil becomes a way of life, as we skip from stress to stress. Before we know it, we too are happily miserable.
So beware the happily miserable person, like an octopus they’ll wrap their tentacles around us and draw us into their orbit. The consequences can devastate with lasting effect. We must be on guard, and we must be vigilant, or risk losing our inner peace. For it’s our inner peace that retains our sanity, and our sanity is priceless…
For more, check out The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By, a Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. See the latest Amazon reviews here. Now revised and expanded, and once again nominated for the Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of the 2015 Global Ebook Awards!
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A 2014 Global Ebook Awards GOLD Winner for Best Non-fiction Self-help Ebook.
2015 Global Ebook Awards Nominee for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook