Spotted: Trophy-less

Did you smile today?

Did you cry today?

Are you happy either way?

Happiness is a mysterious thing in spite of it being the most explored topic in human history. For thousands of years, we have been struggling with the answer to the most fundamental questions. One of them being the pursuit of happiness. Over the course of the centuries there have been diverse theories and guides as to how one can achieve that infamous eternal bliss. Even though most of these guidelines are nowadays accessible on the internet to the majority of earth's population, happiness rates have been going downhill.

I am more than happy here, nearby the city that never sleeps. Although life is stressful, it is more than rewarding- not just in NYC.

The past week I had to get consumed by the topic of happiness, producing yet again an essay of 1.500 words. For that, I took a look at the past, to be exact the 1960s. When we think back to the decade of the seemingly sorrow-less culture surrounded by war and pain, we still rather think of the flowers and leather sandals.

What can we learn about happiness from young rebels and youthful elders of that time?

Dive into the essay to find out.

Enjoy.

Looking up towards the sky - an endless source of happiness.

Trophy-less

San Francisco of the late sixties was a remarkably revolutionary place.

The early Children of Pleasure were taking up the West Coast, in the far east, Vietnam War was hitting a deadly extent, students all over the world were revolting, the Iron Curtain was dividing Berlin and Civil Rights Movement Leader Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee towards the end of the decade.

The tumultuous time of the late sixties wasn’t taking place in San Francisco alone but nevertheless spread its impact throughout the city like a wildfire. Although this specific period in human history got tarnished by bloody and tragic events, it failed to stop the awakening of a counterculture that was led by a completely opposite mindset. One that focused on happiness rather than misery.

Starting on the 21st of January until the 23rd in 1966, the legendary Trips Festival was attracting over ten thousand people, bringing together the city’s diverse arts scene of like-minded thinkers. Nowadays it is known as the kickoff of the psychedelic drug LSD, that has since become a symbol of the hippie movement. The summer of love was deeply impacted by the hallucinogen and can therefore hardly be imagined without it. Seeing the revolutionary events that surrounded the hippie hotspot Haight-Ashbury, LSD became known as the shortcut to happiness.

For as long as humans have been walking the earth, we have been desperately looking for the point of it all and when some ancient greek philosophers seemed to finally have found the meaning of life, the search went on for how exactly one can achieve this thing called true happiness. How ironic, that a growing prevalent culture wearing flowers in their hair and nothing on their feet, were allegedly consuming tangible happiness. Today it gives the impression of how easy it could be - couldn’t it?

A lot has changed since the swinging sixties. African Americans and Caucasians share the same bus space, probably even a drink at the same bar and much more than that; the last time humans took a stroll on the moon was in 1972 and lysergic acid diethylamide has become illegal since the late sixties, although this certainly has not prevented its consumption. Despite all the differences, there is one thing however that hasn’t changed: the pursuit of happiness.

Just like the flower children fifty years ago were trying to find happiness in the face of great tragedies, we are still seeking the perfect recipe today, maybe stronger than ever.

Sometimes it can feel like a true pressure to find happiness in everything one is doing, like it is the only motivation and that is how it ought to be. It is however hard to define this conspicuous bliss and even harder to achieve, as most of us would agree. If one is not happy, one is pushed by society to do better. Just like The New York Times writer Ruth Whippman called it the “happiness rat race”, it is this competitive spirit that keeps the world turning and frankly, us striving. Happiness perhaps being the trophy that needs to be attained, a shortcut nonetheless seems like a seductive solution. Deep down, everyone would choose the easy way out of pressure that makes one crumble into small pieces and there is nothing shameful in doing so.

Albert Hofmann was definitely not aware of the consequences his discovery on a cold November day in Basel of 1938 would entail. Being the first to synthesize and ingest the hallucinogen in 1943, Hofman also didn’t feel like he had just discovered the potential key to happiness, worshipped by the millions roughly twenty years later. Instead he was experiencing the first bad trip, including a dangerous bicycle ride home and an anxiety towards his alleged witch neighbor. But neither the positive nor the negative encounters with LSD bring its consumer anywhere near true happiness. Although choosing the shortcut is convenient, it is never going to guarantee the trophy.

This restless race of a nation is deeply embedded in the american mentality. The so-called American Dream encompasses the pursuit of happiness. Why else did the british puritans sail for a fresh and untouched land, free of persecution and agony. For the same reason the free-spirited took refuge in psychedelic and spiritual substances. America holds up an image that has to be kept alive - resulting in the opposite of its creed.

Sadly, Americans are as unhappy as ever before; 18,1 percent of adults are suffering from anxiety disorder every year, according to the World Health Organization. Ironically, the U.S. has one of the most anxious populations in the world in spite of happiness being one of the pillars stabilizing american values, but maybe also because of it.

Maybe Happiness isn’t something that needs to be attained. Maybe Happiness is not the trophy but the race itself.

The struggle of finding this true bliss is dependent on our certainty that it is a goal to be reached. We pressure ourselves to perform in the race to ultimately stand on the winner’s rostrum. But even if it were like that, what would come afterwards?

The temptation of LSD in the sixties up until today, is the relief of accessing this revelation without any hard work. It is a pill, easily ingested, hardly suppressible, allowing its consumer to taste these few fleeting moments of unity. For the first time, happiness was something tangible and it came as a relief to the people. Finally the race seemed to be over, the world was united and love was the answer. Up to the moment when the effects were starting to wear off and one was left again with empty hands and a feeling of incompleteness. Anxiety came back, knocking on the door, entering without permission.

Albert Camus once said: “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” Today just like yesterday and last year and fifty years ago, we tend to think about what happiness is and how we can capture it rather than if we have already touched it. By focusing on and striving for something that is in itself not achievable leaves us with the exact opposite intend. While we keep an eye on the destination of our journey, we are missing out on the beautiful landscapes we pass, the intriguing stranger next to us and all the potential stops ahead of us. Psychiatrist Lahnna Catalino suggests, that “people who strive to be happy [...] may suffer disappointment, and people who pursue happiness [...], ironically, chase happiness away.” It is like watching the pot boil. Only if you forget about the pot, the water will heat up. If you however keep observing the pot, you will get disappointed.

In the end life is not just about happiness, yet we are holding on to that ideal, simply because it ironically gives us comfort. The idea that there is a goal to be reached, that trophy to be held. Leading a good life is still linked to that pleasant feeling of joy, while negative emotions are often rather avoided. But as author Jonathan Safran Foer says: “You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.”

How can one be happy without being sad?

How can one achieve eternal bliss without experiencing deep disappointment?

How can one reach their destination without embarking on the journey?

San Francisco was indeed a remarkably revolutionary place.

It was the home to young yet powerful free-thinkers, looking for the same answer, we are still looking for today. Although most of them used LSD to get their share of happiness, they didn’t rely on the drug alone. The reason why these flower children were free of care and full of content was their entire perception of life. Happiness was a mentality, a mindset rather than a single state in time. It was their holistic approach to living, that made them so happy. Especially today, we have to stop making the pursuit of happiness a competition and ranking its achievement as a tangible accomplishment. Even if that means to go home trophy-less - or does it?