[sebmellen]

It is! If ~50% of the population feels unfulfilled because they haven’t been able to have the children they wanted, we should fix that. But clearly it would be better to look at the root cause than to rely on this specious invention.

[pjc50]

If you look at the other "personal goals" comment in this subthread, which lists "buy house and get married" before children, I think you can see what the real barrier is.

[mensetmanusman]

Subjective well-being is a fascinating metric to chase because it always changes.

[Pigalowda]

I agree. I think happiness and “well-being” are not actual realities. There is only the pursuit of happiness. And that pursuit can be manipulated for financial gain. I think the very best you can achieve is being a child or failing that contentedness and absence of suffering. Otherwise loss and grief will strip away any possibility of happiness. The only fleeting happiness/joy I often see in myself or other adults is in nostalgia - and that’s pure manipulation.

[sebmellen]

https://resources.soundstrue.com/transcript/shinzen-young-th...

[squigz]

Might this just be you and the people you know, rather than some law of reality?

[Pigalowda]

It certainly could be. There’s the old Greek myth of Pandora’s box - the last entity to emerge is ‘hope’. Is that the worst monster or greatest gift to humanity? I feel like I fall in the former camp. But that’s OK - I still move forward in life and engage in the pursuit of happiness.