Updated on February 28, 2022
When I was a schoolboy, I collected poems from my school library. These poems (which held some meaning to me at that time) were handwritten, read and reread over the years. One of these poems is Carl Sandburg’s poem “Happiness.” And I noticed how their meaning has changed over the years! And little did I know that I, too, became a professor one day.
Carl Sandburg did not get an answer from his professors when he asked them for the meaning of life. He asked famous executives too, and since he did not mention anything further, presumably he received no convincing answers. The poet got an answer when he, “saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion.” Sandburg named his poem, “Happiness” and his question was “the meaning of life”. Happiness and the meaning of life are intimately related. It is through the meaning of life that we find happiness. And this was Viktor Frankls’, a survivor of the infamous Nazi concentration camp, belief too.
Sociologists tell us that there are two types of cultures, very much like two types of everything else in the world (introvert versus extrovert, tall versus short, and so on). The two types in question here are the doing versus being cultures.
Doing culture emphasises being busy to achieve some targets we set for ourselves. In other words, it is task and achievement-oriented. Happiness is when one succeeds, however, measured, be it in dollars & cents, fame, or recognition. Being culture, on the other hand, is people-oriented. The meaning of life here is performing our roles in human relationships (family, friends, and others, including strangers). Happiness is in enjoying these roles like musicians and dancers enjoy performing for others.
It is worthwhile remembering we are “human beings” and not “human doings.” as in all other a versus b situations, there is no black or white or purely either-or situations. We are all some blend of doing and being. And since healthy human relationships play such an essential part in our happiness, it may be advisable to be just a bit more being-oriented.
Like the Hungarians “under the trees with their women and children and a keg of beer,” we enjoy our time with our families and friends. This type of happiness is different from the “other type” of happiness we get from, for example, professional or academic pursuits.
Simple occasions. Simple joys. Let’s drink to them!
Vince
Dr Vincent Chong is a retired Professor of Radiology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
