Life
“ When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life."
posted by Charles Bergeman @ 2:21 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Hm, I don't believe this anecdote, which I see widely quoted. This pretentious five-year-old did not understand education or respect!
Hmm...
I am not aware of the original context of this quote. However, I don't think it would change my reaction to it.
I will turn 50 this year. If I were to advise a 5 year old today regarding the age old question of "What do you want to be when you grow up?", I would think that a focus on happiness is not a bad place to start.
I made the mistake of respecting so-called authorities a bit too much as I grew up. I followed their suggestions, set forth on a path that sounded reasonable to them.
As I moved through those well charted paths, and diligently followed instructions, I was routinely asked to set aside those things that got in the way of "success".
My definition of success is quite different now. It is not about my ambition to "be" something. It is about my desire to pursue those things that make me, and the people I care about, happy.
While there are things I must do to survive, to be a good citizen, and so on, these can never take the place of my passions.
Why must we sap the passions of the young in order to get them in line with the miserable masses?
Are we really that jealous of them? Is it necessary?
Education is necessary, and beneficial. Respect is something we should give everyone. However, is it really pretentious to pursue happiness? I would hope that the pursuit never ends, and that it is sustained by a rewarding series of productive contributions, regardless of the occupation.
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You have inspired me to write a post, Charles. Thanks
Vincent, I am pleased to have provided some inspiration for another of your wonderful posts.
..as the oldest som of two social workers I would love to think I could have been that kid.. it might explain why my traumas are when my Dad found me "unbelievable"..
Many years later, I apologize for my remarks, based on a foolish assumption, that John Lennon (the author of the quote) would have been given the assignment at the age of five. What he says is "when I was at school", which could have been any age, probably during adolescence.
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