Comments on: Prosperity and the Meaning of Happiness http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed Commentary on news, politics, religion, and the economy... Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:55:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Ricardo http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-305 Ricardo Thu, 07 May 2009 16:25:18 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-305 Thank you for your article. I once loved everything material. Tailor made clothes, big homes, expensive jewelry, servants to satisfy my every need. Now that I am older and wiser, I realize that happiness is not a given but needs to be earned. I will be quite happy owning a good tennis racquet. a deck of cards to play bridge, and good friends from every walk of life. There is nothing more satisfying than making those around you smile, and enjoying the simple things of life. Best of all is feeling the warm sunshine on your face. Chi<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('305','Ricardo'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('305','Ricardo','Thank you for your article. I once loved everything material. Tailor made clothes, big homes, expensive jewelry, servants to satisfy my every need. Now that I am older and wiser, I realize that happiness is not a given but needs to be earned. I will be quite happy owning a good tennis racquet. a deck of cards to play bridge, and good friends from every walk of life. There is nothing more satisfying than making those around you smile, and enjoying the simple things of life. Best of all is feeling the warm sunshine on your face. Chi'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Thank you for your article. I once loved everything material. Tailor made clothes, big homes, expensive jewelry, servants to satisfy my every need. Now that I am older and wiser, I realize that happiness is not a given but needs to be earned. I will be quite happy owning a good tennis racquet. a deck of cards to play bridge, and good friends from every walk of life. There is nothing more satisfying than making those around you smile, and enjoying the simple things of life. Best of all is feeling the warm sunshine on your face. Chi
Reply – Quote
]]> By: bob rogers http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-309 bob rogers Mon, 04 May 2009 19:00:40 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-309 Denmark has no law against physician-assisted suicide. A very few U.S. states allow it under very heavy restrictions. That might have something to do with the disparity. Or the Danes may just be delusional, or chronic prevaricators. I haven't heard of a World Database of Assholes, but it appear to relate to my topic. Perhaps it is a place where angry people can gather and enjoy being angry.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('309','bob rogers'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('309','bob rogers','Denmark has no law against physician-assisted suicide. A very few U.S. states allow it under very heavy restrictions. That might have something to do with the disparity. Or the Danes may just be delusional, or chronic prevaricators.\n\nI haven\'t heard of a World Database of Assholes, but it appear to relate to my topic. Perhaps it is a place where angry people can gather and enjoy being angry.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Denmark has no law against physician-assisted suicide. A very few U.S. states allow it under very heavy restrictions. That might have something to do with the disparity. Or the Danes may just be delusional, or chronic prevaricators.

I haven’t heard of a World Database of Assholes, but it appear to relate to my topic. Perhaps it is a place where angry people can gather and enjoy being angry.

Reply – Quote
]]> By: Dave Peyton http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-308 Dave Peyton Mon, 04 May 2009 17:25:34 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-308 <a href='#comment-853' rel="nofollow">@bob rogers</a> - I just love that name - the World Database of Happiness. Is there a companion collection called The World Database of Assholes? It would certainly be huge. Bu the way, check the per capita suicide rate of Denmark vs. the U.S. Another marker, I suspect.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('308','Dave Peyton'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('308','Dave Peyton','<a href=\'#comment-853\' rel=\"nofollow\">@bob rogers<\/a> -\n\nI just love that name - the World Database of Happiness.\n\nIs there a companion collection called The World Database of Assholes? It would certainly be huge.\n\nBu the way, check the per capita suicide rate of Denmark vs. the U.S.\n\nAnother marker, I suspect.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> @bob rogers -

I just love that name – the World Database of Happiness.

Is there a companion collection called The World Database of Assholes? It would certainly be huge.

Bu the way, check the per capita suicide rate of Denmark vs. the U.S.

Another marker, I suspect.

Reply – Quote
]]> By: bob rogers http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-307 bob rogers Mon, 04 May 2009 16:13:13 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-307 I kneel and touch my head to the soil at the very mention of V.S.Naipaul's name! I would refer you to biographies by Patrick French and Paul Theroux, to see how much one should value V. S. Naipaul's opinion when in comes to matters of wealth and race, and happiness, as defined by most rational individuals. Almost every place was horrible to V.S. Naipaul, after they ceased lionizing him, bowing and scraping. Surely he has a great talent with the language. There it seems to end. I've never been to Denmark, so I cannot refute him. The World Database of Happiness depends heavily on questionnaires, worded to get at true feelings, of how happy people believe themselves to be. Perhaps the Danes are masters of self delusion. Aren't we all.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('307','bob rogers'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('307','bob rogers','I kneel and touch my head to the soil at the very mention of V.S.Naipaul\'s name!\n\nI would refer you to biographies by Patrick French and Paul Theroux, to see how much one should value V. S. Naipaul\'s opinion when in comes to matters of wealth and race, and happiness, as defined by most rational individuals.\n\nAlmost every place was horrible to V.S. Naipaul, after they ceased lionizing him, bowing and scraping. Surely he has a great talent with the language. There it seems to end.\n\nI\'ve never been to Denmark, so I cannot refute him. The World Database of Happiness depends heavily on questionnaires, worded to get at true feelings, of how happy people believe themselves to be. Perhaps the Danes are masters of self delusion. Aren\'t we all.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> I kneel and touch my head to the soil at the very mention of V.S.Naipaul’s name!

I would refer you to biographies by Patrick French and Paul Theroux, to see how much one should value V. S. Naipaul’s opinion when in comes to matters of wealth and race, and happiness, as defined by most rational individuals.

Almost every place was horrible to V.S. Naipaul, after they ceased lionizing him, bowing and scraping. Surely he has a great talent with the language. There it seems to end.

I’ve never been to Denmark, so I cannot refute him. The World Database of Happiness depends heavily on questionnaires, worded to get at true feelings, of how happy people believe themselves to be. Perhaps the Danes are masters of self delusion. Aren’t we all.

Reply – Quote
]]> By: Dave Peyton http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-306 Dave Peyton Mon, 04 May 2009 14:34:01 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-306 "If you are interested in horrible places, I can recommend Denmark. No one starves. Everyone lives in small, pretty houses. But no one is rich, no one has a chance to a life in luxury, and everyone is depressed. Everyone lives in their small well-organized cells with their Danish furniture and their lovely lamps, without which they would go mad," V.S. Naipaul. (2002) Nobel Price winner in literature<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('306','Dave Peyton'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('306','Dave Peyton','\"If you are interested in horrible places, I can recommend Denmark. No one starves. Everyone lives in small, pretty houses. But no one is rich, no one has a chance to a life in luxury, and everyone is depressed. Everyone lives in their small well-organized cells with their Danish furniture and their lovely lamps, without which they would go mad,\" V.S. Naipaul.\n(2002) Nobel Price winner in literature'); return false;">Quote</a></div> “If you are interested in horrible places, I can recommend Denmark. No one starves. Everyone lives in small, pretty houses. But no one is rich, no one has a chance to a life in luxury, and everyone is depressed. Everyone lives in their small well-organized cells with their Danish furniture and their lovely lamps, without which they would go mad,” V.S. Naipaul.
(2002) Nobel Price winner in literature
Reply – Quote
]]> By: Craig Bieber http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-304 Craig Bieber Sun, 03 May 2009 20:45:21 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-304 It is easy to admire the Bohemian lifestyle Bob and Claire have chosen...very few people have the courage to do the adventurous things they do. And for me, there-in lies the rub. I admire Bob and Claire's life choices, but eschewing the lifestyle most of us strive to attain seems...defensive and self-serving. Most of my friends are happy...even though most of us have been hit hard by the economic times. I have a house on a hill. It's a wonderful house that my wife and I have put thousands of hours of sweat equity into, and I cherish the evenings on the back deck with a glass of wine. We picked the location for the serenity and the scenery, not to be above anyone. I don't want to be in Denmark, because I love the spoils of being an American...tough times and all. Tough times just make me, and most of the people I know...tougher.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('304','Craig Bieber'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('304','Craig Bieber','It is easy to admire the Bohemian lifestyle Bob and Claire have chosen...very few people have the courage to do the adventurous things they do. And for me, there-in lies the rub. I admire Bob and Claire\'s life choices, but eschewing the lifestyle most of us strive to attain seems...defensive and self-serving. Most of my friends are happy...even though most of us have been hit hard by the economic times. I have a house on a hill. It\'s a wonderful house that my wife and I have put thousands of hours of sweat equity into, and I cherish the evenings on the back deck with a glass of wine. We picked the location for the serenity and the scenery, not to be above anyone. I don\'t want to be in Denmark, because I love the spoils of being an American...tough times and all. Tough times just make me, and most of the people I know...tougher.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> It is easy to admire the Bohemian lifestyle Bob and Claire have chosen…very few people have the courage to do the adventurous things they do. And for me, there-in lies the rub. I admire Bob and Claire’s life choices, but eschewing the lifestyle most of us strive to attain seems…defensive and self-serving. Most of my friends are happy…even though most of us have been hit hard by the economic times. I have a house on a hill. It’s a wonderful house that my wife and I have put thousands of hours of sweat equity into, and I cherish the evenings on the back deck with a glass of wine. We picked the location for the serenity and the scenery, not to be above anyone. I don’t want to be in Denmark, because I love the spoils of being an American…tough times and all. Tough times just make me, and most of the people I know…tougher.
Reply – Quote
]]> By: bob rogers http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-303 bob rogers Sun, 03 May 2009 03:51:45 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-303 <a href='#comment-844' rel="nofollow">@Sebastian</a> - Sebastian, For the reason we left our home: http://newbohemians.net/our-adventures/tandem-an-american-love-story The first chapter will answer your question.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('303','bob rogers'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('303','bob rogers','<a href=\'#comment-844\' rel=\"nofollow\">@Sebastian<\/a> -\n\nSebastian,\nFor the reason we left our home: http:\/\/newbohemians.net\/our-adventures\/tandem-an-american-love-story The first chapter will answer your question.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> @Sebastian -

Sebastian,
For the reason we left our home: http://newbohemians.net/our-adventures/tandem-an-american-love-story The first chapter will answer your question.

Reply – Quote
]]> By: Richard E. Kelly http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-302 Richard E. Kelly Sun, 03 May 2009 02:00:03 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-302 For those of you who do not Bob and Claire, they are the real deal. An inspiration for all of us. They talk the talk and walk the talk, which is very rare for people today or at any time in the history of human beings.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('302','Richard E. Kelly'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('302','Richard E. Kelly','For those of you who do not Bob and Claire, they are the real deal. An inspiration for all of us. They talk the talk and walk the talk, which is very rare for people today or at any time in the history of human beings.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> For those of you who do not Bob and Claire, they are the real deal. An inspiration for all of us. They talk the talk and walk the talk, which is very rare for people today or at any time in the history of human beings.
Reply – Quote
]]> By: bob rogers http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-301 bob rogers Sun, 03 May 2009 01:33:29 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-301 I appreciate your final question. Yes, I am rich. All Americans are rich, if you compare us to people in Third World/Developing countries. If you compare us to other Americans, we am richer than many, and less rich than many others. That is vague. Let me explain. We never spend more on travel than we could easily have spent if we had stayed at home. We do have reserves. We believe in being responsible; we don't expect the government to bail us out sometime in the future. In that way we are more rich than many Wall Street bankers, agricultural corporations, and automobile companies. They are the socialists, we are the capitalists who take care of ourselves. We simply are frugal. For many years we spent less than we earned. Now we are reaping the rewards of that frugality. End of story. Anyone in a modern Western society can do the same. Someday we will write a how-to book on the subject. Are we rich? You bet. Life experiences, memories, are the ultimate wealth.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('301','bob rogers'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('301','bob rogers','I appreciate your final question. Yes, I am rich. All Americans are rich, if you compare us to people in Third World\/Developing countries. If you compare us to other Americans, we am richer than many, and less rich than many others.\n\nThat is vague. Let me explain. We never spend more on travel than we could easily have spent if we had stayed at home. We do have reserves. We believe in being responsible; we don\'t expect the government to bail us out sometime in the future. In that way we are more rich than many Wall Street bankers, agricultural corporations, and automobile companies. They are the socialists, we are the capitalists who take care of ourselves. We simply are frugal.\n\nFor many years we spent less than we earned. Now we are reaping the rewards of that frugality. End of story. Anyone in a modern Western society can do the same. Someday we will write a how-to book on the subject.\n\nAre we rich? You bet. Life experiences, memories, are the ultimate wealth.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> I appreciate your final question. Yes, I am rich. All Americans are rich, if you compare us to people in Third World/Developing countries. If you compare us to other Americans, we am richer than many, and less rich than many others.

That is vague. Let me explain. We never spend more on travel than we could easily have spent if we had stayed at home. We do have reserves. We believe in being responsible; we don’t expect the government to bail us out sometime in the future. In that way we are more rich than many Wall Street bankers, agricultural corporations, and automobile companies. They are the socialists, we are the capitalists who take care of ourselves. We simply are frugal.

For many years we spent less than we earned. Now we are reaping the rewards of that frugality. End of story. Anyone in a modern Western society can do the same. Someday we will write a how-to book on the subject.

Are we rich? You bet. Life experiences, memories, are the ultimate wealth.

Reply – Quote
]]> By: Sebastian http://justoneopinion.com/prosperity-and-the-meaning-of-happiness/comment-page-1#comment-300 Sebastian Sat, 02 May 2009 15:48:35 +0000 http://justoneopinion.com/?p=1872#comment-300 Right on Bob Rogers! This article is so true. Who needs a big fancy car? Who needs a really big house with a lot of empty roooms? Who cares what you have except other snotty stuckup rich people? Who wants to be friends with them anyway? I think you are right about making time for others. We are all so busy making money we can't enjoy the stuff that money brings because we don't have time to. When I try to see or visit my friends they are always too busy working late or on the weekends. One friend of mine has three jobs. He works all week and then delivers pizzas at night and then works at a store on the weekends. He is saving up for a new sports car and says he wants to pay cash. How many pizzas will he have to deliver to get $30 or 40 thousand dollars to buy a car? One question though for you Bob. Why did you ever leave your home with the view of the volcano. Do you ever wish you could go back and live there again. Not to be nasty, but are you rich because you seem to travel a lot (I've seen your website)? I hope you arent being a hipocrite you know being rich but then critisizing everyone else for want to be rich? I hope my question does not make you mad, but I'm just wandering.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('300','Sebastian'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('300','Sebastian','Right on Bob Rogers! This article is so true. Who needs a big fancy car? Who needs a really big house with a lot of empty roooms? Who cares what you have except other snotty stuckup rich people? Who wants to be friends with them anyway? I think you are right about making time for others. We are all so busy making money we can\'t enjoy the stuff that money brings because we don\'t have time to. When I try to see or visit my friends they are always too busy working late or on the weekends. One friend of mine has three jobs. He works all week and then delivers pizzas at night and then works at a store on the weekends. He is saving up for a new sports car and says he wants to pay cash. How many pizzas will he have to deliver to get $30 or 40 thousand dollars to buy a car?\nOne question though for you Bob. Why did you ever leave your home with the view of the volcano. Do you ever wish you could go back and live there again. Not to be nasty, but are you rich because you seem to travel a lot (I\'ve seen your website)? I hope you arent being a hipocrite you know being rich but then critisizing everyone else for want to be rich? I hope my question does not make you mad, but I\'m just wandering.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Right on Bob Rogers! This article is so true. Who needs a big fancy car? Who needs a really big house with a lot of empty roooms? Who cares what you have except other snotty stuckup rich people? Who wants to be friends with them anyway? I think you are right about making time for others. We are all so busy making money we can’t enjoy the stuff that money brings because we don’t have time to. When I try to see or visit my friends they are always too busy working late or on the weekends. One friend of mine has three jobs. He works all week and then delivers pizzas at night and then works at a store on the weekends. He is saving up for a new sports car and says he wants to pay cash. How many pizzas will he have to deliver to get $30 or 40 thousand dollars to buy a car?
One question though for you Bob. Why did you ever leave your home with the view of the volcano. Do you ever wish you could go back and live there again. Not to be nasty, but are you rich because you seem to travel a lot (I’ve seen your website)? I hope you arent being a hipocrite you know being rich but then critisizing everyone else for want to be rich? I hope my question does not make you mad, but I’m just wandering.
Reply – Quote
]]>