Am Remembering

November 9, 2013 by kmabarrett

Happiness is not something you experience, it’s something you remember.

— Oscar Levant

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On This Day In:
2012	Sustained Fear
2011	Commitment

Posted in My Journal, Philosophy, Quotes | Tagged My Journal, On Happiness, Oscar Levant, Philosophy, Quotes | 10 Comments

10 Responses

on November 10, 2013 at 5:29 pm | Reply Marie Hunter Atwood

I’ve always considered happiness from its source, that it is not from without but from within, an attitude, a frame of mind. I love the point of remembering, however as it extends the moment as long as there is the memory.
- on November 10, 2013 at 9:32 pm | Reply kmabarrett
  
  By and large, I’d have to agree with you that “happiness” is mostly internal. I am not sure it is exclusively so, though. If it were, I’m not sure we’d have the expression (the rough equivalent) of: “I do it because it makes me happy.”
  
  As mentioned in a prior comment, my reason for the post was it struck me as a quirk of the English language that “happy” is a present / now “to be” term, while “happiness” is a past term because it describes the emotion, not the state: “I am happy.” But I am never: “I am happiness.” I had just never considered the distinction before, so the quote gave me pause (so I posted it).
  
  I fully agree that happiness is extended as long as we can recall the memory. In fact, as I get older and my memory fades, most of my memories are happy ones. So I guess, happiness expands to fill the memories allotted to it.
  
  By the way, thank you for your comment!
  - on November 10, 2013 at 10:05 pm | Reply Marie Hunter Atwood
    
    Thank you! I read a lot of your quotations along with this one which I really enjoyed.
    - on November 10, 2013 at 10:53 pm | Reply kmabarrett
      
      Feel free to comment on any postings whenever the mood strikes.
      
      Most of my “quotation” postings are without an initial comment by me (other than the title) because I’m actively trying not to bias you (the reader’s) initial impression. By the way, I don’t always agree with a given quotation just because I’ve posted it. I am just in love with words and language and the images they express. The comments from my readers are frequently surprising to me as we all see things slightly different – and vive la différence!
      - on November 15, 2013 at 7:55 pm | Reply Marie Hunter Atwood
        
        I know all about that love affair with words. I was hooked before I could read. Have you read my poem Word Images? The address (I think) if you care to look is http://upwardbound.wordpress.com/Marie-Hunter-Atwood
        fi wrote the poem in the 1940s when I was fifteen.
        
        on November 15, 2013 at 8:07 pm | Reply kmabarrett
        
        No. I’ve not read your poem and I’m afraid I’m not able to as that site appears to be password protected…
        
        on November 16, 2013 at 10:32 am | Reply Marie Hunter Atwood
        
        I am so sorry for the confusion. The blog was not protected just the announcement (Hello World) that changes were under way. Please do try again. I have removed the announcement because it wasn’t doing what I expected it to do while at the same time it turned you away.
        
        on November 17, 2013 at 9:44 pm | Reply kmabarrett
        
        I like it!
        
        But do words make up our soul or soul-image? Are they (words and thoughts) like abilities or choices or actual decisions and actions…?
        
        Just asking…
on November 9, 2013 at 5:02 am | Reply Steven Bowen

For some “preprogrammed” reason, I had to think about this. I realized that I’d never looked at it from this perspective. I always thought of “Happiness” in terms of the here-and-now: I “am happy,” I “want to be happy,” They “look happy,” She is “not happy.” At least not cognitively. I’m sure on some level we know that “happiness” is something we experience but to consciously consider this definition? I’m sitting in front of the fireplace with my wife drinking coffee here at 5:56a and when I read this quote, we both started saying it out loud to consider the definition of this quote and it automatically began to conjure up great memories, making us feel “happy.” Interesting reverse-psychology. At least to us. Thanks for sharing Kevin.
- on November 9, 2013 at 12:20 pm | Reply kmabarrett
  
  Hi Steven,
  Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
  
  I always enjoy when I get a comment from someone saying one of the quotes I offered up has given them pause to think. I don’t expect agreement, but I do like to think of it as an “inflection point” in the universe, irrespective of vibrational resonance or dissonance.
  
  My own “interpretation” of the quotes was this was merely an interesting quirk of the English language – a matter of time, expression and equivalence: “I am happy.” (Now and feeling the emotion.) “I am happiness.” (Doesn’t make sense. Now, but not feeling, simply emotion, which can be experienced but you are not actually equal to.)
  
  No reverse-psychology intended, but if it worked, terrific!
  
  Actually, sitting at a fireplace, enjoying an early morning cup of coffee with a loved one sounds like a pretty “happy” time to me. I would be happy in the moment and let that moment be a memory for the future.
  
  Again, thanks for the comment! And keep up the good work on your own site. I am also enjoying your quotes.
  
  Namaste