Always defined the two as different.
And always viewed happiness as the
better of the two. Let me define my
terms:
Contentment: The overall feeling that
all is good. Comfort. No real need to
strive or fight.
Happiness: The giddy highs which can
be achieved at particularly intense
moments of pleasure.
The latter is related to my probably
being bi-polar (though I prefer manic
depressive - it sounds much more
romantic). I got it from acting; staying
up very late, hanging out, and being
silly with friends. Sometimes from
wordplay, and intense spamming -
cackling and giggling gleefully as
I post. Mainly now though, form
dancing. I suspect people who take
euphorics feel this way.
The former, mainly when I was with
my wife. But, it seems that the two
are incompatible. Both the deep depressions
and the giddy highs disappeared, when I
was truly content. And, I knew that some-
thing was missing. Ah, the highs did come
occasionally, and maybe I could have sought
them out more - so perhaps that's a load of
crap. Something did seem to be missing though.
Tonight, after my dancing frenzy, I began to wonder
if I might not want contentment again. It's what I
most missed, but I don't think that I'd want to give
up the tremendous rushes in exchange for it. I suspect
that I'd be willing to give up the depression, however.
