Muslim hippies?

Like I said in class, "Jesus and Mo" are equal-opportunity offenders.

I happen to like Muesli, myself. And some of my best students are Sufi.

happy & dirty

It was the best "Dirty Christmas" celebration I've ever participated in: I came away with a neck pillow and a cool towel inscribed with the haunting question "What if the hokey pokey is what it's all about?" And this happened in class, our last Happiness 101 class (except for next week's final exam), thanks to Irene's brilliant final project.

First, we were all invited to declare our present perception of happiness on a 1-10 scale (the median was approximately 5 or 6), then we selected our presents (beautifully wrapped, meticulously paired with thematically-appropriate quotations from the texts we've been reading all semester... mine was from J.S. Mill, "Happiness = pleasure - pain"), and just a few of us then chose to exchange our lucky draws for someone else's luckier one.

Some got books, some candy, one a giant comb, another itch cream, and I forget what all else... but when it came time to rate our happiness again, we were all quantifiably happier. I went from 8 to 9, resisting 10 for fear that I'd then have to echo William James's remark to Henry Adams: “Though the ULTIMATE state of the universe may be its extinction, there is nothing in physics to interfere with the hypothesis that the PENULTIMATE state might be a happy and virtuous consciousness. The last expiring pulsation of the universe’s life might be, “I am so happy and perfect that I can stand it no longer.”

Does our susceptibility to material influence, our reported spike in happiness based on the experience of receiving small brightly colored gifts, make us all superficial, externally-oriented, dependent-on-"stuff" kinds of people? I think it just makes us festive, clearly ready for a little holiday cheer. I was cheered, and sorry to see this class come to a close.

And besides Irene's wonderful Santa act we had terrific reports from Kevin on Sufism, and from Eric-- not a "grump" at heart at all, in my opinion-- on the importance of pursuing happiness like a rational being (and not like a sheep or a bystander).

So what's our coda? James Taylor fits the mood sometimes, but maybe Keith and the boys are better for the final curtain.