Imagine you are Person A. You just graduated from school and arenow on your own. Your family is unable to help you in any way. Youmanaged to find a job, but the pay is only enough to cover yourrent in a tiny rundown apartment, transportation to and from work,limited cell phone service, and fast food or other cheap sources ofcalories. Your purchases of clothing and personal items are limitedto what you absolutely require. You cannot buy anything simplybecause you like it. You need some new slacks to wear to work, soyou are skipping breakfast this month to save for them. You cannotafford to see a doctor if you get sick. Your only choices forentertainment include hanging out with old friends from school,walking in a city park, watching a 9-year-old TV in your apartment,or reading books from the library. You do not have a computer oraccess to the Internet or cable TV at home. You do not know if orwhen you will be able to get a higher-paying job.

Now, imagine you are Person B. Like Person A, you just graduatedfrom school. But unlike Person A, you have been put under housearrest for one year because of a conviction for drug possession.Although you live alone, you are the beneficiary of a familyfortune and have more money than you could possibly spend in alifetime. You are not allowed to leave your beautiful penthouseapartment, which is furnished with every kind of electronicentertainment device known to man. You do not need a job; you cansurf the Internet; you can buy anything you want online and have itdelivered; you can listen to the music you like and watch TV orstreaming video whenever you wish; you can order food in from thebest restaurants in town; and your friends can visit you.  

In legal terms, Person A is “free” and Person B is “not free.”Person A has the right to go anywhere in the world, while Person Bis “imprisoned” in a beautifully decorated 3,000 squarefootcondominium.   

question

1. On page 4 ofHandout S3, I describe an imagined Person A and Person B. Person Ais legally free to go anywhere and do anything, but has verylimited resources. Person B is confined to house arrest, but has nofinancial constraints. Go back and read the description, thenanswer the following questions:

If you had to spend ayear living under the conditions of Person A or Person B, whichwould you choose? Which of the two has greater freedom? What if thetimeframe were longer? Would that change your answers? (25POINTS)

AnswerEITHER 2a OR 2bbelow (25 POINTS):

2a. Happiness in thepresent moment has been described as being “in the flow,” a stateof “being so absorbed and engaged in something that time fallsaway.” Here is a quote from page 14 of Handout S3:

“Being “in theflow” is not the same thing as relaxation, although both might makeyou lose track of time and both are important to happiness. Bothcan also bring about a sense of peace. Yet while relaxationgenerally implies a passive engagement or an avoidance of purpose,“flow” happens when you are actively focused on an intentional taskor pursuit. All of your thoughts and emotions are simultaneouslyand purposefully directed toward this task, so much so that you maynot even be aware of your feelings. You may not even be able todistinguish your awareness and intent from the actionsthemselves.

You might playball, for example, either to relax or to intentionally hone yourathletic skills. Either way, you might enjoy yourself and lose asense of time, but working on skills requires more directed focus.Or, you might watch a movie either to relax or to gain information.The intention of the activity is what distinguishes “flow” fromrelaxation.”

What intentionalactivities do you engage in that take you away from time, place,and maybe even an awareness of yourself? Are there any similaritiesin these activities? Can you think of how to build more of theminto your life?  

2b. Describe asituation in which you discovered synthetic happiness. What did youwant that you did not get? What happened instead? How did you findhappiness? What surprised you about the situation?