The Futile Pursuit of Happiness
I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves–such an ethical basis I call more proper for a herd of swine. –Albert Einstein
The first snow came a couple of days ago, marking the end of a season that had been both trying and rewarding. The beauty of this place almost seems impossible to bear at times, grand and powerful and complex beyond comprehension. Blissful moments walking through the golden aspen groves, sitting by ancient gnarled cottonwoods in remote canyons carving their way through an ocean of sculpted sandstone, or just watching the sun set through clouds of orange, pink and lavender from my living room window, were the settings for an emotional roller coaster. I’ve been here before. The most intense beauty brings with it existential thoughts, the joy of the moment burdened by years and memories, hope mixed with fear of what is yet to come and, when sadness sets in, the struggle to keep despair at bay turns into real palpable pain before the cycle begins again, the sun comes out, opportunities materialize and life goes on.
I have never considered myself a happy person but, then again, I never felt a particular desire or need to be one. The decades taught me that my creativity peaks in the best and worst of times, never in between. I have never felt content for very long and if I had, I’d surely become bored and frustrated and seek ways to tip the balance, in any direction. This is why I am not fond of summer, not drawn to “comfortable” climates, nor find much value in sacrificing the freedom to roam for the safety of an urban life. I could not find meaning in my life any other way.
This is not about my own psyche, though, but rather a backdrop to a topic that is often on the minds of artists and photographers, as evident by recent postings and essays I’ve read on the topic of choosing subjects, locations, and methods. Do you pursue what you love, what feels good, or what is a safe bet for sales or ratings or positive feedback? More often than not those in the know will preach emphatically that you should do what makes you happy. In my mind, though, this is a recipe for short-lived satisfaction and long-lived mediocrity. Happiness is fleeting. Take a bite out of a chocolate bar and you will be happy but will have accomplished nothing. Place your tripod in the same place thousands have before you, and you will get a nice image that is the artistic equivalent of a paint-by-number and every bit as memorable. Instead, my advice is: forget about happiness and do what’s most meaningful, even if it involves great effort and personal hardship. When you have accomplished something meaningful, no matter the sacrifice, you will truly have reason to be proud – a lasting achievement.
Where it pertains to art and particularly to photography, the incessant pursuit of re-making the same iconic images as many have before may yield short-term success and happiness but will not earn you a spot in the pantheon of the greats. Your “stunning shot” of a familiar view is guaranteed to be forgotten weeks, if not days after you’ve made it. If, however, you are serious about creating art, making a meaningful contribution to the advancement of your chosen medium, and have your name and legacy persist through the ages – forget about happiness, forget about having fun, and forget about making copies of others’ work, no matter how “stunning”. Put your soul into it, be ready to cry and sacrifice and hate life at any given moment. The satisfaction of having created a unique and meaningful work for the ages will eclipse these temporary discomforts and reward you beyond any momentary happiness.
Happiness will come and go, a mere by-product of fleeting circumstances. And, if you make it your ultimate goal, the same will be true of your art. If you are true to your art, ignore happiness and focus instead on what’s important and meaningful to you, on the things you want to say, no matter how difficult. You will surely have moments of happiness along the way, but you will stand to achieve so much more.
Category: Featured, Thoughts and Musings
Deep stuff and very Van Gogh-like. Try not to cut off your ear, Guy.
Great photo btw.
Very powerful and thought provoking post, Guy.
“my creativity peaks in the best and worst of times, never in between.”
I can fully relate to that statement. As always, a very poignant and well thought-out post Guy.
Your new images from this fall are compelling, Guy. I can see you’ve been practicing what you preach.
Great piece of writing Guy.
” Put your soul into it, be ready to cry and sacrifice and hate life at any given moment.” – Very true!
Your writing is really inspirational. May be you may want to write a book of short notes of your life’s “Best and Worst” times with sweet toppings of your images.
“…nor find much value in sacrificing the freedom to roam for the safety of an urban life.”
I struggle with this every day. I live primarily outdoors and sometimes long for a warm cozy house. Sometimes I want that comfort and supposed security so much that I get really bummed.
Then the next morning, dawn breaks to the most beautiful sunset ever, something I would never see if I weren’t outdoors.
Trade the sublime for security? Tempting, but not the right road for, as you put it, meaning.
Beautiful Piece. Thanks.
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know” -Ernest Hemingway
Just beautiful writing, Guy!
[...] Tal has a very thought-provoking post which comes on the heels of a reading I did last night by Osho. They used slightly different [...]
This post is un-American, well that is, it is un-what-Americans-are-known-for-now-at-their-worst: seeking pleasure. However, to me the very best American traits are those that were developed and tempered by difficulty and struggle. Your post, Guy, is probably exactly what we need to hear again. “Follow your bliss” is perhaps one of the most trite, worn-out and cliche expressions ever. It is supposedly the way to enlightenment, ha. In my experience, and look at your own life anyone reading this, it is exactly the experiences that were the most difficult, the accomplishments that took the most effort, the trials, struggles and challenges that were the worst, that ended up being the most rewarding and brought the most learning and growth. If any of the “follow your bliss” crowd want to talk metaphysics, I can say with the certainty of results that it is the most difficult path that burns through the most karma. That’s why the rewards are the sweetest. I’m not saying it is necessary or even advisable to punish ourselves unnecessarily, but often a little hardship is exactly what we need. Very good points all, Guy. Brilliant post and a great argument for landscape photographers to get out of the car and walk, hike, climb or as Edward Abbey says, “crawl through the desert until your knees bleed,” to get photographs rather than waltzing out by car to Zabriskie Point or Tunnel View.
Thought-provoking post, Guy. While I agree getting the same cookie-cutter shots all the others have are more meaningless than meaningful, I find that the struggle to get the more unique shots and lesser seen angles are what makes me happy. Fulfilling that accomplishment and seeing the world at a different angle from everyone else are what keep my curiosity and excitement evolving, thus creating a new level of happiness each time I’ve succeeded in finding something I know is unique. This may be a difference of our different points of view, since I consider myself to be a happy person. So we could probably go on endlessly about our views on the world, but in the end they would just be our own unique angles on how we each see things.
While I agree completely, Guy, I also think a distinction should be made between happiness and joy. “Happiness” to me does connote superficial enjoyment. Joy, however, is a state and experience that is more deep and penetrating, and is very worthwhile pursuing. I do not believe in being unhappy just for the sake of it — for the conviction that “happiness” is somehow too easy and true meaning only derives from suffering. I believe in celebrating life, even in its dark and pain-inducing moments (of which there are many). And I believe where one looks for beauty and joy, one can find it — even in small ways. And that can be an incredibly meaningful experience. If this makes any sense at all.
“Happiness will come and go, a mere by-product of fleeting circumstances”.
There is comfort in those words Guy, the circumstances of ones life can be controllable or uncontrollable at any given moment. Our past and desire for happiness in the future determines much of our own reactions to the moment. At times of happiness one may seek a leveling out pursuit so as to prepare for the uncontrollable which will take the fleeting happiness from us. To be able to cherish those moments of peace and serenity and carry those memories is what gets myself through those times of despair. A new dawn will arise each day, with it the unforeseen will come, how we chose to handle it is, for myself, the ability to allow those cherished moments to overcome those of despair.
The artist must pursue what he or she loves, all else is superficial. Not until the heart is put into ones artistic creations does it have any personal meaning even if it only moves the artist and no one else.
On a more personal note, the love you and Sarah provide for Cletis and Maggie is unmeasurable, I can not set here and write how I understand how you feel, that is simply impossible, my loss for words is a human condition that just plain sucks.
Guy,
Just found out about your site and blog over at David DuChemin’s blog.
Wonderful images and very thoughtful musings……
It makes be a bit sad but I love your quote:
“I fear that future generations will judge us harshly for our failure to place proper value on wildness, diversity, open space, spirit, solitude and other treasures of the natural world still available to us today. May they at least know that some of us tried”
Let’s not stop trying to preserve this beautiful globe.
Thank you, everyone, for the kind words and insightful thoughts! Life is indeed a journey of discovery and no matter what we set out to learn, we are ultimately learning about ourselves.
Guy
[...] I always tell people to shoot from the heart. If you are shooting to please others, to get an easy iconic trophy, or to to get kudos for your ego then your art is shallow. To make more meaningful work, you need to shoot for yourself. You should make images that move you and reach deep into your soul and you should care little what others think. You need to shoot to please your heart. Along this line I really enjoyed one of Guy Tal’s recent excellent essays entitled The Futile Pursuit of Happiness. [...]
A philosopher as well as an artist. You have a way with words I enjoyed your thoughts and largely agree with you sentiment.
“..the artistic equivalent of a paint-by-number and every bit as memorable” The inference being that having a memorable image is happiness? Clearly this is not true.
“When you have accomplished something meaningful, no matter the sacrifice, you will truly have reason to be proud – a lasting achievement.” No earthly achievement lasts beyond your last breath and it would be a conceit to flatter ourselves that our “Art” is truly meaningful and something that changes lives for the better. Take a look at the lives of the “Great” and ask yourself are they or were they happier than those lesser mortals their peers? Many of those geniuses were very unhappy despite their great achievements.
Thanks for sharing its thought provoking.
Thank you so much, everyone!
Pramod, that is a good idea. I try to weave some of my best and worst experiences into other texts but this could be an interesting project some day.
Chinle, I know exactly what you mean. Some experiences become part of who we are and giving them up is as inconceivable as giving up a body part.
David, your words echo my own thoughts. I was not suggesting anyone punish themselves on purpose, but merely that hardship should not always be avoided at all cost. It can, at times, lead to great rewards.
Mike, these are good points. There is no doubting the happiness that comes from achievement. What I really meant was that pursuing accomplishment is a better state of mind than pursuing happiness for its own sake, independent of any meaningful achievement.
Emily, that’s a good point. What you describe as joy is the feeling of deep reward when I have experienced or created something truly meaningful, beyond the momentary happiness of checking off another beautiful and well-worn trophy.
Brad, thank you for the kind thoughts! And your note about putting your heart into your work is exactly what I meant. It may or may not be a happy experience, but it is deep and rewarding beyond simply being happy.
Tom – thank you!
Darwin, it’s always an honor to be mentioned on your blog and I will urge anyone reading to follow it closely. It is a constant source of inspiration.
Rodney, I think you are arguing the same thing I am. I never equated having memorable images with happiness. Happiness doesn’t matter. Many of those greats you mention had the means to opt for easier and more lucrative paths but chose to stick to their art even when it made them miserable. They, too, realized that short lived happiness is a hollow victory. Meaningful achievement, even if plagued by tragic circumstances, is still more rewarding than simple happiness.
[...] Guy Tal has a heart-to-heart talk on the meaning of photography in The Futile Pursuit of Happiness [...]