As my Grandpa (child of the great depression) said in his typical ineloquent yet wise way: "Back in my day, when we weren't happy we were fine with it!"
Agree.
In the last few years I've tried to shift from seeking happiness to seeking meaningfulness as the first order pursuit.
Happiness is like a red herring for meaning, or it's a side effect of a meaningful activity. Or it's something you seek when you experience a dearth of meaning.. not sure. But it's certainly just one or a narrow set of experiences that make up being human.
Definitely, agree. And before someone argues with the expected rebuttal, I think there’s a difference between chasing happiness and rationally acting upon your wants.
In the US at least, “the pursuit of happiness” is such a fundamental concept, people really aren’t challenged to question it.
One of the greatest problems with the concept of “just dropping out” is the attachment to the idea of happiness. Happiness being one of the most oppressive demands of society and yet the narrowest of requirements.
Would be interesting to live in an environment where happiness wasn’t the primary goal. That seems like true freedom and entirely compatible with dropping-in or out.