It seems obvious (almost to the point of nonsense) to point out that being human is a complicated enterprise comprised of multiple dimensions. As humans we must, at once, balance between our physical health and our mental health, our earthly needs and our spiritual needs, our individuality and our community, our masculinity and our femininity, our work ethic and our leisure, etc… The human being is a multi-dimensional being and as such we cannot sacrifice one dimension for another. Every dimension of our being has its proper role to play. Only in acknowledging each and every dimension of our being are we truly human.
Why is this important? Intuitively, we may be aware of these different dimensions but practically or consciously we are not always. Too often we focus our energy solely into one part of our lives. And even if things go successful in that dimension, we may still come up short when it comes to overall happiness. Being in a good relationship, or having a fulfilling job, or being in great physical condition, are necessary for happiness but are not sufficient on their own if some other dimension of our lives is impoverished. Everyone knows the image of a person whose energy burns too brightly in only one sphere of their existence: the genius artist who is poor, the famous athlete who is lonely, the selfless social worker who cannot take care of his or herself, the successful businessman who is estranged from his or her family, the drug addicted hedonist who is disconnected from the world, the brilliant mathematical mind that cannot talk to a girl, the religious zealot who has sexual problems, the social butterfly who is a stranger to him or herself, so forth and so on. As humans, we have a tendency to desire what others have, believing that if only we were taller, richer, or more creative like Jane and John Doe, we would be happy. And yet, a glimpse behind the currents of many of these individuals who possess what we lack, would often times reveal a world as miserable and lacking as our own. Happiness, then, must be the product of a well-rounded individual who can fulfill as many different dimensions of their life as possible.
There are some that have realized that our dimensionality was the root of our discontent and have proponed the idea of eliminating these “extra” dimensions and, like Thoreau suggested, living simply. Living simply is no longer an option—returning to the jungle to hunt and forage on our own seems more like hiding (even if it is a brutally tough form of hiding) from life’s problems than facing them. We have to meet our complexity head on. Furthermore, by what standard could one begin eliminating spheres of existence? Depending on who you ask, you will receive a different answer as to which sphere is the most important and which can be extinguished: meditation urges us to abandon/discipline our bodily needs, psychoanalysts urge us to become in touch with our visceral and instinctive animal needs, politics emphasize our social nature, education teaches us to value the mind, religion advises us that the body is a prison and the true essence of being is our soul, etc.
I do not think throwing ourselves into conflict over our mode of being is the proper way to solve the problem. We need to embrace our plurality and make the best of a complicated situation. As Whitehead cautioned us, perhaps in response to Thoreau, “Seek simplicity and distrust it.” Life, in every aspect/respect, is a plurality of interesting, overlapping, and interdependent spheres of existence. Our discontent is a product of our inability to keep pace with every sphere of existence that emerges. We are complex beings that have to somehow synthesize our physical, emotional, sexual, social, spiritual, visceral, and intellectual needs into one coherent chain of being known as “life/living.” Dysphoria—unhappiness—is bound to arise somewhere. Our task is to negotiate between these spheres, appropriating the proper amount of time and energy to the proper spheres. We will do much better if we embrace the plurality of (human) being, rather than deny it/fight against.
However, as much as we embrace it, our multi-dimensionality is ultimately an embarrassment of riches: we simply cannot keep up with or satisfy all dimensions with the same amount of time and energy. We will always neglect one sphere of existence at the expense of elevating/intensifying another. We are such complex beings that we can hardly enumerate our various dimensions of existence. And not only do we have more dimensions than we can count, the situation is further compounded by the fact that all of these dimensions are interrelated. No dimension is an island unto itself. The odds of successfully negotiating and reconciling between all of these complex dimensions are stacked against us. We, as human beings living in the 21st century, are inherently inclined towards discontentment. It is the very complexity of being that has raised us to the level of divine creatures that is also the root of our inability to be content beings. Our plurality of being is at once our blessing and our curse. It is the intersection of dimensions that affects all aspects of our lives. For example, there are two common situations that prove the point: individuals who seem to have it all—power, looks, fame, money, health, family—can be as miserable as anyone on earth, meanwhile people who seem to have been screwed over by God himself—people with birth defects, physical handicap, poverty, bad luck, and misfortune—can continue to lead optimistic, happy lives. How is it possible that a person who seemingly has it all and one who seems to be a magnet for misfortune can lead lives so antithetical to their external circumstances? It is because these individuals, these archetypes of monism, have internal lives that are radically different than there external lives. The former individual has an internal life that is impoverished and so cannot appreciate the external, while the latter has an internal life that is vibrant enough to invigorate even the worst of situations.
Happiness is about satisfying all dimensions of our being, which is why no one is ever perpetually happy. At the end of the day, we can pick and choose what we feel are the most important dimensions in our lives—whether they be physical, romantic, intellectual, or spiritual—and do our best to fill those outlines with color. But we must do so cognizant of the fact that the shadow of discontent potentially lurks behind every corner of our lives. Our plurality of being is a fire that burns brightly: it can be used to forge a great creation, or it can be our demise. Embrace the plurality of being, knowing that its warmth will also occasionally singe you.
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