Want to be happy? Encounters with the Arts might be the answer

With a headline like this, I've got some explaining to do.

How exactly might encounters with the arts make you happier? Since meaningful encounters with the arts almost always provoke further reflections which lead to substantial conversations (a fact for which the Arts are sometimes derided) this leads directly to findings reported this past week from The New York Times regarding the phenonemon that (somewhat counter to public assumption) those who have deep and substantial conversations are indeed happier. Why is that? Well, as The Times reports, "Matthias Mehl, a psychologist at the University of Arizona (who published a study on the subject) proposes substantive conversation seem to hold the key to happiness for two main reasons: both because human beings are driven to find and create meaning in their lives, and because we are social animals who want and need to connect with other people."

Full Article Here // Excerpt Below

Would you be happier if you spent more time discussing the state of the world and the meaning of life — and less time talking about the weather?

It may sound counterintuitive, but people who spend more of their day having deep discussions and less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier, said Matthias Mehl, a psychologist at the University of Arizona who published a study on the subject.

“We found this so interesting, because it could have gone the other way — it could have been, ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ — as long as you surf on the shallow level of life you’re happy, and if you go into the existential depths you’ll be unhappy,” Dr. Mehl said.

But, he proposed, substantive conversation seemed to hold the key to happiness for two main reasons: both because human beings are driven to find and create meaning in their lives, and because we are social animals who want and need to connect with other people.

“By engaging in meaningful conversations, we manage to impose meaning on an otherwise pretty chaotic world,” Dr. Mehl said. “And interpersonally, as you find this meaning, you bond with your interactive partner, and we know that interpersonal connection and integration is a core fundamental foundation of happiness.”