The UHVPE Workshop

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The first day of my college starts with a workshop called "Universal Human Values and Professional ethics." We haven't been explained the reason(like in school) why they were doing this but I think this workshop is aimed to make us better persons. I am amazed that to be a better person, there are technical steps and rules we should follow. There are limits and horizons to keep our minds in control. I am amazed that in a technical college, everything is so technical. Today was the second day of the workshop. We were talking about happiness and I am again amazed that we are taught to define happiness in a definite sentence.
It said: Happiness is a state of being in harmony ,or, happiness is when there is no contradictions in our thoughts. I honestly am a little against the theories they explained after that. So when we were given a chance to raise our doubts, I wrote, "Can Money buy happiness?" My question was answered after a list of other questions. The speaker right away said, "No." He paused, looked back at the question and spoke again "Money is a material and happiness is a feeling. Materials cannot buy feelings." This answer was far too weak  to subdue my feeling that money buys happiness, everyday.

I cannot convince myself with this cliche that money can't buy happiness. I mean that's only theoritical. Everyone gives the same example of somebody owning hundreds of cars but no family and proves this cliche right. They compare a branded shoe and a shoe simply comfortable but who isn't happier getting a branded shoe than a simple one with no brand.

Materialism cannot be compared to happiness. I agree with this but we cannot just say that it cannot,at all buy happiness. Wasn't it because we got a toy that we smiled and didn't cry? Are we not happy getting a new pair of shoes? Doesn't it make us happy visiting an expensive restaurant? Some people might call it greed but aren't we happy getting what we want. Aren't we happy being able to travel and have fun like rest of the world? I thought of this example instantly as  the answer came from the speaker. Say, our most loved person is genuinely ill and the only solution to save him/her is to get help from an expensive hospital. So what's going to happen if there was no money? We-are-losing-a-loved one! We are losing someone who makes us happy.
I know money cannot literally buy happiness and and that we wouldn't even want to exchange our family with trillions of money. But in many little ways I have known, money has bought happiness.

My questions might have an answer and a particular word to describe. May be I am too ignorant to so many facts. May be I didn't really understand the universal human values for which I need some professional ethics. I hope to learn from this following six days.

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 23, 2015 at 8:14 AM

    so true . you should have told the speaker all this ,

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sonam ChodenJuly 23, 2015 at 9:44 PM

    Meghna, May be it was me who didn't really get the concept. Haha. Thank you for reading anyways.

    ReplyDelete

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