Is this happy or sad?

When you watch this video, do you think it is happy or sad?

I saw it and absolutely loved it. I felt like this old woman is living life how it's meant to be lived.
Cooking outdoors, eating real food, just look at that huge honking piece of meat, enjoying the simplicity of it all life has to offer.
Right, well apparently no..

It was posted on a social media site. I was absolutely taken back by the comments. People were
devastated for her and saying "poor old woman", "too bad she still has to cook", "why isn't someone taking care of her", "how sad she has to live in poverty", "why hasn't she changed her dress". Seriously, she looks around 90 years old and they are worried about her dress.....
What, what, .... what. Is that what people get from this video???

Every day I feel like I'm living in the matrix, and the world is being flipped upside down.

a reply to: JAGStorm

She looks pretty happy to me.

Tragedy, a human living her life, being productive, cooking for family, showing a caring nurturing heart and serving those she loves, pure tragedy
Should be in a old age home stuck in a bed slowly rotting away, that would be much more fun for her

If my mum had that smile

originally posted by: Raggedyman
Tragedy, a human living her life, being productive, cooking for family, showing a caring nurturing heart and serving those she loves, pure tragedy
Should be in a old age home stuck in a bed slowly rotting away, that would be much more fun for her

Is that what this is, is this people projecting? Maybe they have an elderly relative housed up and deep down feel guilt but they see this lovely video and try to flip reality around...

a reply to: JAGStorm

Perspective is the ticket.

originally posted by: JAGStorm

originally posted by: Raggedyman
Tragedy, a human living her life, being productive, cooking for family, showing a caring nurturing heart and serving those she loves, pure tragedy
Should be in a old age home stuck in a bed slowly rotting away, that would be much more fun for her

Is that what this is, is this people projecting? Maybe they have an elderly relative housed up and deep down feel guilt but they see this lovely video and try to flip reality around...

I think that old lady looks very happy, it warms my heart

originally posted by: andy06shake
a reply to: JAGStorm

Perspective is the ticket.

That is exactly what I'm asking. Is my perspective whacked, or has society changed so much that this can be considered sad...I honestly can't grasp one sad element of the entire video!

a reply to: JAGStorm

Possibly six of one and a half dozen of the other?

Your perspective is your own and the only one that matters.

Either way, whacked or otherwise, to be sane in an insane world, could be considered, to be somewhat counterproductive.

Happiness is where one finds it i suppose.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Happy, obviously.

That social media must have seriously taken this out of context somehow.
I read the comments on the YouTube page; no such confusion.

Every day I feel like I'm living in the matrix, and the world is being flipped upside down.

Perhaps the social media is creating its own distorted paradigm.

It looked so relaxing. The meat looked like it had been previously preserved by salting and maybe smoking. It actually looked good. I do not know what she was dipping it in, but I would try it. Remember, to preserve food in areas without electricity it means preservatives must be used, the oldest type is salt. Been used for thousands of years.

I don't understand why the person put the whole meat into the water, you should only cut off as much as you are going to eat, the meat was actually hung to dry it appears, so maybe it was too hard to cut without soaking it first in the hot water.

The person may be missing a few teeth, but seems to be able to eat ok. Why would anyone feel sorry for this person, I am kind of jealous of the simple life she has. The only rat race this person has to worry about is beating the rat to his food.

I read it was grandma, but kept putting he in my post for some reason

a reply to: JAGStorm

People were devastated for her and saying "poor old woman", "too bad she still has to cook"

She probably likes that she can still cook...I hope I still get to cook for myself if I make 90.
People who cook, usually enjoy cooking. She looks happy

Here’s an idea:

Let’s find a video of an elderly lady (or gentlemen), dressed in some old comfortable, casual clothes happily tending to a nice juicy rack of ribs over a smoky grill outside in the fresh air.

Would those same folks (or anyone in the so-called “first world”) feel sympathy for the elder in such a tableau?

Or would the sentiment be more akin to envy?

(Or just plain hunger!)

It is likely that the video’s setting and musical score lead those who expressed pity for the subject of the video to assume that she was a resident of some unfortunate impoverished Asian country.

Such is the trap of we fall into when we assume.

a reply to: JAGStorm

It mostly just made me hungry. That looked delicious.

a reply to: Bhadhidar


Photo by Nikka Singh

Happiness is belonging where you are.
Eviction is sad.

I assume that the woman in the video is not being evicted; at least not on that day.

a reply to: JAGStorm

For those who are so absorbed in technology and modern life, she is a threat to their way of life. What little she has and her simple contentment with living a simple life is unfathomable to certain segments of our society. I think your idea of transference is spot on. Kind of like the enteral lie that technological advancement will make us happy and content. It almost seems like we are going int the opposite direction. Sure, in the 1st world we may have better access to food and shelter, but it seems like it comes at a great cost.

Definitely happy, here's an earlier photo,



I'd eat that,

(Tongue in cheek joke there)

a reply to: JAGStorm


Ummm...that was absolutely amazing...and I admit it made me tear up a tad...you see...she reminds me of my mom...

I just got back from the hospital where my mom is recovering from congestive heart failure...bronchitis...and the flu...all at the same time...

At 87 years of age...she drove herself to the hospital yesterday and they admitted her...when they release her tomorrow she’ll drive herself home...then go back to work the following day I imagine...

Yes...my mom still works at 87...lives alone...drives...prepares and cooks all her own meals...and damned if I or any else is ever going to take any of that away from her...matter of fact...I encourage it...

My mom loves her job...she loves to work...she loves to cook and she loves to write and paint...

Yes...she’ll too be gone one day...but it’ll be on her terms...no doubt doing the things she loves...hell...she only gave up driving the five speed standard five years ago and moved to an automatic...


So...yes...that beautiful lady in the video looked as if she was totally happy...content and enjoying life...
That’s the secret of harmony and equanimity...to find comfort and joy in even the most mundane task...to live or truly be alive...in every moment...


Thank you...








YouSir

a reply to: YouSir

Your mom sounds awesome YouSir.

My mom has always been very independent, resilient, and a go getter too... Much of what inspires me comes from her.

She also sounds like she has such a good quality of life because she still has a routine and keeps active, something many people later in life start to lack on.

Anyways, I hope she has a speedy recovery man, from the sounds of it I'm sure she will. cheers.

a reply to: ClovenSky

For those who are so absorbed in technology and modern life, she is a threat to their way of life.

That is exactly what I'm afraid of. Sometimes I feel like an antique alien among my own people.

What I'm talking about, That video,

The air, clean air. The smell of fresh air dried laundry, not over perfumed synthetic coatings.

Real food. Real chicken noodle soup. I've had several people ask for my "secret" recipe.
It's no secret, it's just regular, yet homemade chicken noodle soup, not poured from a can.

Real fire.. have you noticed that real fire is going away, fake candles, fake fireplaces, permits to have a fire outside on your own property, less and less gas ranges and wood cookstoves.

Rest. A warm bed covered with simple but natural materials. Down pillows, linen sheets, cotton blankets. Real wood furniture. No weird plastics beds, with foam mattress that offgas and made from God knows what.

The sun, pure hot sun on the skin. No sunscreen, no hats, just enough sun to warm but not to burn.

Water, clean fresh water, from a well, untreated and unpolluted.

I guess my thoughts on happiness are completely different than most these days.
I feel like they are taking all things that make us human away, and things that bring a most basic, primal
sense of well being away. I don't think people even know what they are missing these days.