Pico Iyer on Joy

Musings from Pico Iyer on joy and happiness:

Being self-employed will always make for a precarious life; these days, it is more uncertain than ever, especially since my tools of choice, written words, are coming to seem like accessories to images. Like almost everyone I know, I’ve lost much of my savings in the past few months. I even went through a dress-rehearsal for our enforced austerity when my family home in Santa Barbara burned to the ground some years ago, leaving me with nothing but the toothbrush I bought from an all-night supermarket that night. And yet my two-room apartment in nowhere Japan seems more abundant than the big house that burned down. I have time to read the new John le Carre, while nibbling at sweet tangerines in the sun. When a Sigur Ros album comes out, it fills my days and nights, resplendent. And then it seems that happiness, like peace or passion, comes most freely when it isn’t pursued.

If you’re the kind of person who prefers freedom to security, who feels more comfortable in a small room than a large one and who finds that happiness comes from matching your wants to your needs, then running to stand still isn’t where your joy lies. In New York, a part of me was always somewhere else, thinking of what a simple life in Japan might be like. Now I’m there, I find that I almost never think of Rockefeller Center or Park Avenue at all.

More here.

Comments

[Ruchira]

I like Pico Iyer's writings. I do not share his views on happiness entirely but some observations struck a chord.

My life is very different from Iyer's. Having left the work force long ago, I have never had the need to run away from a busy corporate existence. But our fantasies about that perfect setting for peace and happiness are not bound to what we do and where we are. Like Iyer, my day dreams often take me to Japan.

In my moderate travel experience (compared to yours, Namit) through world cities, three left magical impressions, each for different reasons - San Francisco, Barcelona and Kyoto. Of these, the only one where I have imagined myself living is Kyoto. The existence I conjure up is very similar to what Iyer is currently living. But add to mine a view of the wavy, crenellated tile roof of a Buddhist temple from an upstairs window and high speed internet.

I doubt that the Japanese are happier than the rest of the world. But for some reason, I can see myself at peace there, my lack of mastery over the Japanese language notwithstanding. It is one place where I think that isolation from the outside chatter and the zeitgeist will not make me feel left out or lonely. It is of course all a fantasy with no real life experience of an extended stay to back up its veracity, rising solely out of some moments of exceptional calm that I have felt during my travels through that country even though my itineraries were always packed and hectic.

I have occasionally written about Japan on my blog touching upon one experience or the other. My last post on Japan was a pot pourri of a few such observations. See here.

[Namit]

Thanks Ruchira. What leads to happiness is one of those questions that I hope always remains unsettled. I agree that ultimately it really does come down to cultivating a certain quality of life, a state of mind, an attitude, and it can be attained anywhere. But perhaps the presence or absence of some social forces can make such cultivation easier or harder? For instance, a hyper-competitive economic milieu with few safety nets can foster anxiety and strife. Etc. I enjoyed reading again your report on your most recent visit to Japan. I went there thrice in the late 90s for a total of six weeks but somehow never made it to Kyoto! I am determined to fix that mistake.

[v]

wow, im glad i stumbled across this site. the next time im asked something about india by my well meaning curious anglo friends, im going to sound a lot smarter.
i live in sf, been to barcelona, id love to go to kyoto too.
thanks!

[Louise Gordon]

I don't know why anyone would want to read John le Carre, but this is a great article on happiness and all the societal forces that tend to militate against it.

Thanks, Namit, for posting this.