Word Of the Week #553: Observation
March 11, 2015 by Susan Clarke
Observation – something learned in the course of observing things.
What observations have you made in the last week? Do you like to learn things? Have you ever questioned why you believe what you believe? Has an observation ever changed one of your beliefs?
I watched “Hector and his Search for Happiness” this week and really liked it Hector is a quirky psychiatrist who has become increasingly tired of his humdrum life. He feels guilty dispensing recommendations to his patients that never change their conditions or make them any happier. So he tells his girlfriend, Clara, that he needs to go on a journey to research happiness. It’s pretty funny, thought provoking, and sweet. During his “research” he makes the following 22 observations:
- Making comparisons can spoil your happiness
- Happiness often comes when least expected
- Many people only see happiness in their future
- Many people think happiness comes from having more power or more money
- Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story
- Happiness is a long walk in beautiful, unfamiliar mountains
- It’s a mistake to think that happiness is the goal
- Happiness is being with the people you love; unhappiness is being separated from the people you love
- Happiness is knowing that your family lacks for nothing
- Happiness is doing a job you love
- Happiness is having a home and a garden of your own
- It’s harder to be happy in a country run by bad people
- Happiness is feeling useful to others
- Happiness is to be loved for exactly who you are (People are kinder to a child who smiles)
- Happiness comes when you feel truly alive
- Happiness is knowing how to celebrate
- Happiness is caring about the happiness of those you love
- Happiness is not attaching too much importance to what other people think
- The sun and the sea make everybody happy
- Happiness is a certain way of seeing things
- Rivalry poisons happiness
- Women care more than men about making others happy
- Happiness means making sure that those around you are happy
This week’s focus is on making an observation. How many of Hector’s observations rung true with you? Are there any that you had never given much thought to before? When was the last time you just sat quietly and observed the world around you?
This week’s picture incorporates a number of Hector’s observations that we had on our Baja Wilderness and Whale Adventure trip last month.
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