Science, Religion, Politics and in the pursuit of truth – HappyPsychotic

To begin with, many studies of depression have shown that it is most often caused by an important and complex problem that can only be solved with intense thinking. The more important the problem, the more focused the person needs to be on solving it, which causes the person to minimize other distractions and become “withdrawn from life”.

Shouldn’t the universe have created a balance between pleasure and pain, both physically and mentally? Maybe there is a balance…

I suppose what I find most interesting about this book is how it makes me think about the causes of good and evil. In the book, there are 2 half brothers who are very different – one is on death row because he is a mass murderer, the other has declined to accept honours from various groups that he has helped over the years including risking his life to save Jews during WWII, even though he had no personal connection with any Jews. So the main character is trying to determine if there are any reasons behind why one person is “evil” and another is “good”. Is there a genetic reason? Is it due to environment? Is it due to parental upbringing? Is it a disease that you catch?

Have you ever read a book that so captivates your imagination that you don’t want to leave it and return to the real world? One that shocks you when you look up at the clock and see how much time has past? I’m not talking about an “interesting” story of mystery of fantasy, I’m talking about a story that makes you strive to comprehend, that confuses, that puzzles, that draws deep emotions by its imagery.

It seems to me that the great majority of us are only happy when external events dictate it. i.e. When something “good” happens to us, it causes us to be happy. So I’m wondering if we really need to wait for these “good” things to happen before we get happy. Can’t we choose happiness?