{"id":409,"date":"2009-01-31T19:01:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-31T19:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2009\/01\/january-comes-to-a-close\/"},"modified":"2009-01-31T19:01:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-31T19:01:00","slug":"january-comes-to-a-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2009\/01\/january-comes-to-a-close.html","title":{"rendered":"January comes to a close"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A story today in NewWest about Missoula\u2019s gloomy weather (and lovely accompanying photographs) caught my eye. As a regular sufferer of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) I can attest to the author\u2019s description of Missoula in January<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Overhear someone trying to explain the inversion to an outsider and often, you\u2019ll hear the word \u201ctrapped.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As in: stuck in the valley with no way out.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re talking about the the cloud cover, but they likely mean much more.

The city, usually a bounding, smiley, athletic hamlet, is torpid under the inversion. Planes circle and don\u2019t land, people avoid trails, parks and sometimes, other people altogether. Smiles are rare and alcohol flows more freely.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

January in Missoula: Inside the Inversion<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>This year, however, January has been pretty good to me. It\u2019s hard to say why exactly. Two weeks of \u201cvacation\u201d (thesis work, travels, seeing friends, and giving a talk) in England may have played a role in breaking up the month<\/span>. Healthy eating and exercise, some dietary supplements<\/a>, a wonderfully supportive girlfriend and friends, a good job, and relatively low stress otherwise also surely played a role.<\/p>\n

In any case, here\u2019s to hoping it keeps up \ud83d\ude42 <\/span><\/p>\n

The important thing about happiness or the enjoyment of the fruition of good karma is to ensure that it is passed forward \u2013 helping others, spreading joy in whatever ways possible. Otherwise it simply feeds a conceit, leading eventually to separation and downfall. I\u2019m reading a great paper by Allan W. Wood discussing Kant on happiness in which he states:
<\/span><\/p>\n

It is our overriding need to confirm our self-conceit that makes us lay claim to happiness as a mark of superiority over others. We form the idea of a comprehensive whole of satisfaction in order to compare ourselves to others, always with the hope that the comparison will make us look good. The point of being happy is to feed our insatiable amour propre<\/span> by seeing our state as one from which we may look down on other people, regarding them as our inferiors. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kant vs. Eudaimonism<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Both Kant and Buddhism<\/a> have interestingly similar things to say on this, namely that happiness, in the sense of good feelings or satisfied desires, is ephemeral and not to be sought after for its own sake or reveled in too greatly when it comes. More important is action in accordance with duty (Kant) or deepening attunement with Dharma<\/a> (Buddha)<\/span>. That comes when happiness is understood as a condition, based on myriad interconnections and external circumstances rather than a purely internal<\/span> and thus personal<\/span> state. <\/p>\n

While we may say \u201cmy happiness\u201d or \u201cI am happy\u201d what we should understand is that we should say \u201cthere is happiness\u201d or \u201cthe conditions for happiness have arisen.\u201d Recognizing this, that even happiness is not about \u201cme\u201d or \u201cmine\u201d brings deeper contentment, even <\/span>with<\/span> the sense of happiness present<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A story today in NewWest about Missoula\u2019s gloomy weather (and lovely accompanying photographs) caught my eye. As a regular sufferer of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) I can attest to the author\u2019s description of Missoula in January: Overhear someone trying to explain the inversion to an outsider and often, you\u2019ll hear the word \u201ctrapped.\u201d As in: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJanuary comes to a close<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A story today in NewWest about Missoula's gloomy weather (and lovely accompanying photographs) caught my eye. 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