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Bailey Turner

Professor Jon Beadle

English 115

23 September 2018

The Spaces We Inhabit

What does it mean to be happy? For most people, the answer relies on how we go about

our lives and the spaces we inhabit. To be more precise each person has a different method on

how they better themselves in hopes that they might live a​ happy ​and fulfilling life. This idea is

best exemplified by the works of David Brook’s “What Suffering Does”, Graham Hill’s “Living

with Less. A Lot Less.”, and Sonja Lyubomirsky’s “How Happy Are You and Why”. All coming

from varying backgrounds and a wide range of opinions, but with one thing in common in their

essays. How to better ourselves and how exactly we might be able to do that.

In the David Brooks article, “What Suffering Does” he analyzes the idea of space in a

more emotionally challenging sense. In most definitions of the word, “space” it is often

associated with time and physicality defined by Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, “a limited extent

in one, two, or three dimensions.” Except this isn’t entirely true since space can be one’s

emotional state or moment in time and the circumstances or situations that might come from it.

Brook’s article discusses an aspect of this, he explains that people who go through a great deal of

suffering affect their perspectives on life. That being the external circumstances that happen in

our lives and how it effects us mentally. This allows people to remove their rose-tinted glasses

and figure out what actually matters in life and what doesn’t​. In fact, a notable example Brooks
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chose to use was his references to the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D.

Roosevelt, “Think of the way Franklin Roosevelt came back deeper and more empathetic after

being struck with polio."(Brooks 284) and later with “Abraham suffered through the pain of

conducting a civil war, and he came out of that with the Second Inaugural." (Brooks 286). These

men both went through a tough time, but rather than allowing these incidents to rule their

livelihoods they chose to better themselves and coming out with stronger presidencies.

It is important to also point out that within Brook’s articles, he illustrates a clear picture

of what it means to have our lives altered for the better over such difficult situations not just by

pointing out two influential presidents you’ve learned about in school. For instance, a mention of

the surviving victims of the Holocaust “Prisoners in the concentration camp with the

psychologist, Victor Frankl rededicated themselves to living up to the hopes and expectations of

the loved ones, even though they might themselves already be dead,” (Brooks 286) This shows a

concept we’ve heard about time and time again, a lack of human understanding towards others

and coming out of this atrocity stronger as individuals rather than submitting to Nazis or any

other hateful group.

Except what about us? The regular individuals who don’t have to deal with wars,

stressful presidencies, or the scrutiny of others? What about the people who struggle with

alcoholism, depression, cancer, or any other coincidences that might occur in our lives

unexpectedly. In Brooks article once again he refers to this concept and references what happens

to us by using words from a theologian, “The theologian Paul Tillich wrote that people who

endure suffering are taken beneath the routines of life and find they are not who believed

themselves to be.”(Brooks 285) This is the basic idea of a space in time and how it affects our
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emotion. If we allow ourselves to get past the hardships that occur in our lives. There is a chance

we might be able to come out of it as better people who are more grounded individuals and we

shouldn’t fear the negative but in fact, embrace it.

Continuing, we must glance at Graham Hill’s article “Living with Less. A Lot Less.”

that analyzes the power of living in homes with a minimalistic outlook, this is also an external

look at space. Hill defines it best by referencing to his actual life, “I live in a 420 square feet

studio. I sleep in a bed that folds down from the wall. I have six shirts. I have 10 shallow bowls

that I use for salads and main dishes. When people come over for dinner, I pull out my

extendable dining room table. I don’t have a single CD or DVD and I have 10 percent of books I

once did.”(Hill 308). Except, why does this kind of environment matter to Hill’s happiness and

well-being?

Well since space is something that can be physical, there are environmental factors that

affect us. For instance, some people like Hill believe that the phrase “more money means more

problems” is something worth looking into. In Hill’s essay he speaks in mass detail about his

love-affair with materialism, “I bought a four-story, 3,600 square foot, turn-of-the-century house

in Seattle’s happening Capitol Hill neighborhood and, in a frenzy of consumption, bought a

brand new sectional couch (my first ever), a pair of $300 sunglasses, a ton of gadgets, like an

Audible.com Mobile Player (one of the first portable digital music players) and an

audiophile-worthy five-disc CD player. And of course, a black turbo-charged Volvo. With a

remote starter!” (Hill 308 – 309) This list is used to exemplify just how much he owned to make

him feel happy. Except in his article, he continues to point out his slow venture into the

mundanity of living excess creature comforts, “My success and things it bought quickly changed
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from novel to normal" (Hill 309) He lets the audience understand the progression of his

happiness slowing down and him becoming unsatisfied with life.

A question someone might be wondering is why is this such a bad thing? Owning so

much when so many have so little. The problem that often occurs is being able to manage and

organize everything. Hill speaks of his personal struggles with this issue, “My life was

unnecessarily complicated. There were lawns to mow, gutters to clear, floors to vacuum,

roommates to manage (it seemed nuts to have such a big, empty house.), a car to insure, wash,

refuel, repair and register and tech to set up and keep working.”. (Hill 309) Transitioning back to

space, if our environment is not a positive and calming we often will find ourselves becoming

more stressed. Hill argues having fewer things might benefit our environment is having less, so

there is less to deal with allowing you to focus on yourself rather than the meaningless things

you own, giving us the possibility to better ourselves in doable ways.

Finally, what happens when you look at the concept of space in all of its aspects? Sonja

Lyubomirsky article “How Happy Are You and Why?” She examines why exactly some people

are happy all the time and why others are not. Unlike the other authors who used personal

experiences, reference, and external sources, Lyubomirsky uses her experience as a psychologist

to conduct interviews with people to understand happiness on a broader scale. For instance, in

Lyubomirsky’s article, she examines the lives of various people like Angela; “Angela is

thirty-four and one of the happiest people that I ever interviewed”(Lyubomirsky 180) In this

subjects' case her life wasn’t perfect in fact “, her mother was emotionally and physically abusive

to her, and her father did nothing to intervene,” (Lyubomirsky 181). Lyubomirsky explains

Angela is happy because she allows herself to not get caught up in the past and focus on the
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negative, rather she chooses to put her energy in her loved ones. Glancing at a completely

different person we see Shannon, a woman who has a very normal life with a decently well-off

upbringing. “Growing up, Shannon had an uneventful childhood, a stable and modest home, and

several close friends.”(Lyubomirsky 181) but here is the thing, “But, despite the lack of tragedy

or trauma in her life, Shannon seems to turn everything into a crisis,” (Lyubomirsky 182). This

shows an example of how people with decent lives are more prone to self-destruction since they

lack awareness of real issues and get caught up in meaningless situations. It is also important to

mention a lot of people’s assumptions are often false when it comes to being happy and how we

maintain it as a constant. Lyubomirsky points out these various myths people often believe about

being happy while also numbering them, “Myth No. 1: Happiness Must Be “Found,” and

explains, “The first myth is that happiness is something that we must find, that it’s out there

somewhere, a place beyond our reach, a kind of Shangri-La. We could get there, yes, but only if

the right things would come to pass: if we’d marry our true loves, secure out dream jobs.”

(Lyubomirsky 185) The idea that Lyubomirsky wants us to understand that the best method of

being happy is: looking at your life, find what’s affecting you and how you might be able to

change the outcome, and become a stronger person from the negative, since the best way to be

yourself, is by understanding yourself and getting to a space in your life where you genuinely

feel comfortable.

The concept of space and how it affects our lives are a broad landscape of ideas that

constantly intersect with each other in various ways, but the biggest take away is that we must

understand is every individual has their own distinct method on how to be happy and what it

means to better yourself. Whether that may be environmental factors, personal upbringing,
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circumstances, or something altogether or in-between what really matters is that we end up

happy.

Works Cited

1. Brooks, David. “What Suffering Does.” Pursuing Happiness, edited by Matthew

Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 284-287.

1. Hill, Graham. “Living with Less. A Lot Less.” Pursuing Happiness, edited by

Matthew Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 308-313.

1. Lyubomirsky, Sonja. “How Happy Are You and Why?” Pursuing Happiness, edited

by Matthew Parfitt and Dawn Skorczewski, Bedford St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 284-287.

​ erriam-Webster, 2018, 18 September 2018

1. “Space” ​Merriam-Webster Dictionary. M