Monday, May 2, 2011

Blank and Bland

Sad but don’t know why? You are not alone.

“In the 1950s psychotherapists began seeing a new type of client, the “successful malcontent”. This type of person is normally successful by contemporary social standards, has a decent job, reasonable income, reasonable family life, reasonable acceptance and respect in the community: all the rewards that are supposed to bring happiness in our society. Success doesn’t mean there is no suffering or difficulty: some suffering and difficulty are part of normal life and are accepted as such. The successful malcontent knows that he or she is “happy” by ordinary standards but seeks therapy because he or she finds that life is nevertheless “empty”. Isn’t there more to life than money, career, consumer goods, social life? Where is the meaning?”

Helen Palmer, The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others in Your Life

2 comments:

littlemisshomosapien said...

The problem with people is they're basing the definition of happiness on the standards of a defective society, which they themselves created. Loyalty to one's true self is such a rarity in this day and age that it's not hard to come by people making up for the emptiness of their souls with material things and shallow lifestyles.

Irish Michelle said...

i know, right? we chase after the wrong things. and we wonder why we're so unhappy.