Is it okay to be happy when the world collapses? | Avram Alpert

one My friend made news of two major life achievements the other day: his first book was published and his university awarded him a term. But, he said, he was in pain. How could he be happy for his success when so many horrible things happen in the world?

This is a good question, and I’ve heard one from a lot of people these days. When I write these words, humanitarian disasters are in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Global climate action is not moving fast enough, and we dangerously build an uninhabitable planet. Meanwhile, in the United States, immigrants have been rounded up and shipped abroad without legal protection. Trans people are demonized. Meaningful government agencies have been cut. Research has ruined. The university attacked. The legal system is pushed to the edge and corruption is rampant.

Is happiness cruel when suffering so much damage? Or is it stupid to connect your own mental health to this unpredictable and often violent world? I told my friend that there are some facts in both questions: if he is going to feel the pain of the world, he should remember to be happy. In saying this, I rely on some of the oldest beliefs in the world – the ones we want to remember today.

The idea that we should feel the pain of others is deeply engraved in many cultural and religious beliefs. Such a basic image is an understanding of human beings as individual body members. We can find versions of this concept in religious texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

For example, St. Paul has a letter in his letter to the Corinthians: “Just like the body is a man, there are many members…so with Christ… If a member suffers, all suffers.” Centuries later, Ralph Waldo Emerson provides a secular formula: “This is the oldest and latest philosophical doctrine, that man is a man, and without the sympathy of all members, you will not hurt any member.”

Those who doubt their right to happiness are echoing this noble ideological tradition. It is reasonable and moral to think that you should feel hurt when someone is hurt.

But feeling that others don’t feel like you’re not limiting you to their pain. The above St. Paul quote continues: “If a member is respected, then everything is rejoicing with it.” There is some logical fact: Should we experience their happiness, too, if we encounter harm to others?

Some Buddhist texts show that this is part of the enlightenment process. Buddha suggested spreading one’s consciousness throughout the universe and experiencing all the joy of all the people you meet along the way. This feeling is called Muditausually translated into the joy of sympathy. German term – Freudenfreudeenjoy the honor of another person – captures this idea well.

When we doubt whether we should feel good now, we only feel the pain of others. We are very concerned about what’s wrong in the world, we ignore the new feats around us, joy, birth, achievement, final, kindness. Although over-focusing on positives makes us saccharin, completely ignoring them makes us cynical.

Recognizing the need to experience the pain and joy of others helps us transcend the trap of ourselves feeling good about feeling good or simply ignoring the world. It helps us overcome the spiral trap of retreating to the blank space of positive thinking or the same helpless devastating depression. Instead, we can appreciate the true nature of our feelings: miserable, joyful, fear and joy.

As connected members of an interactive and complex world, we are bound to experience this emotion. The trick is to learn to let yourself experience everyone, not to feel anything specific. The times we live in are filled with horror and joy. The same is true for our souls. Both are OK.

Saying this is not about getting into normalization and accepting our current political situation. There is more chaos and cruelty than ever before. That’s part of the point: the current government wants to “own libs” and cause pain and chaos. Political action is the main place to fight back. But it is also important to take good care of yourself. Feeling sad about the state of the world at some point is part of being a human being. Feeling good at some point is part of our resistance.

What gives me hope

Two things: history and a surprising alliance. History gives me hope because we have managed to overcome many horrible things before. I looked back at a lot of unnecessary death and destruction, but I also saw humans merge together to form a more friendly and caring way of life. It tells me that we have at least the ability to overcome the horrors of the present.

This is also why the alliance is crucial. History shows that the movement wins when a group of people crosses the differences to form a new set of power. I protest these days and when I see anarchists, mothers in the suburbs and veterans standing side by side, I know we have a chance.