Let Go and Let Be

Do we know what makes us happy? Happiness is the theme in my recent reading. Immanuel Kant in Fundamentals Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals tells us that to be a moral person; it is unnecessary to bother about happiness. He writes, ‘(He) is unable to determine with certainty what would make him truly happy, because to do so, he would need to be omniscient.’ Kant is saying that we don't know what will make us happy tomorrow or the next day. Happiness is ephemeral. Yet, we can choose to be moral people.

 Anxious People (2020) author Fredrik Backman details a conversation that Zara has with her psychologist. The psychologist is asking  Zara why she wants money and lots of it. Her response gives us an understanding of how she hopes to achieve happiness, ‘I buy distance from people.’ Zara explains that when a person has money, they get extra room in first class, bigger distances between tables at fine restaurants, and hotel rooms with special entrances. In the modern age, we buy distance; we think that makes us happy. 

Paradise Lost, by John Milton, has been a beautiful listen and read. The language is magical as the story unfolds. The first lines in Book V read:

 

       Now Morn her rosy steps in the eastern clime

       Advancing sowed the earth with orient pearl

 

In this, I am hopefully omniscient. The beauty of words, portraying simple truths as describing a sunrise, will make me happy. Psalm 30:5 is another of those magical phrases:

 

       Weeping may tarry for the night

       But joy comes with the morning

 

Julian of Norwich states the essentials of happiness. She relays that our soul must perform two duties. The one is we must 'reverently' wonder and be surprised; the other is we must 'humbly endure' or gently let go and let be. These words 'let go and let be' do not require us to be omniscient; instead, we simply see the simple things around us and delight in them. Is that not to be happy?

 
Let go and let be
Julian of Norwich
States simply
Let go and let be
 
These simple words
Stated simply
Profound in my ears
Sending truth through my heart
 
Let go, simply, let go.
Let be, simply, let be.
 
These simple words
Stated simply
Hearing requires
Being
 

March Reading List

Completed:

• Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals (1785) by Immanuel Kant

Currently Reading:

• Anxioux People (2019) by Fredrik Backman
• Psalm (5th Century BC) by King David and Solomon
• Meadowlands (1996) by Louise Glück
• Kajsa Kavat (1950) by Astrid Lindgren
• On Liberty (1859) by John Stuart Mill
• Paradise Lost (1663) by John Milton
• Proverbs (8th Century BC) by King Solomon

Audio:

• Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens