Is Happiness All?

1. FADE IN.

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. STUDY - DAY

6. 
   

7. PETER sees a phone notification.

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9. PETER (V.O.): During pandemic times, a lot of people seek my opinion as to how to be happy.

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11. Pausing.

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13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can offer some habits.

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15. Pausing.

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17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For daily habits: eat healthily, do exercises, breathe deeply, be grateful, smile naturally, compliment others, accept downs, overcome stress, write diaries, and sleep better. I write publish daily short screenplays.

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19. Pausing.

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21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For weekly habits: manage space, get together, and plan ahead. I write and publish weekly short screenplays featuring my pet.

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23. Pausing.

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25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For monthly habits: travel overseas. That's what I did after retirement. Since the pandemic, I've been taking staycations.

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27. Pausing.

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29. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I see my family doctor once every few months and plan ahead at year's end.

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31. Pausing.

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33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm reasonably healthy. I live a reasonably happy life. But, is happiness all?

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35. Act 2

36. 
    

37. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS

38. 
    

39. Peter is in thoughts.

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41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What exactly is happiness? Are happiness and pleasure the same? Or are they different?

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43. Peter surfs the web.

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45. PETER (V.O.): They aren't the same. There's a key difference scientifically.

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47. Reading.

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49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Happiness is giving, togetherness, non-addictive, light, abstract and long-lived. It's chemically tied to serotonin - the happiness contributor.

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51. Reading.

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53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Pleasure is taking, personal, additive, deep, substantial and short-lived. It's chemically tied to dopamine - the pleasure messenger.

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55. Reading.

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57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But excess of dopamine can lead to addiction, which erodes both present and future happiness.

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59. Reading.

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61. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Scientifically, dopamine downgrades serotonin.

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63. Reading.

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65. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And so, the more pleasure we seek, the more unhappy we are.

66. 
    

67. Pondering.

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69. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't know if the rich and famous can find contentment in their pleasurable or happy pursuits.

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71. Pausing.

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73. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As for myself, I could feel my peaceful satisfaction. I might have implicitly transferred my feel to some of the Quorans.

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75. Pausing.

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77. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That might be the reason why I've been receiving such answer requests.

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79. Pondering.

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81. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If happiness is scientifically more fundamental than pleasure, is happiness what we live for?

82. 
    

83. Thinking.

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85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's the most fundamental question about human existence and purpose - a metaphysical question.

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87. Pausing.

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89. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In philosophy, there's the Hedonist theory ie the satisfaction of desires is the highest good and proper aim of human life.

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91. Pausing.

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93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I've been skeptical with the theory, as I think there's more to life than just the pursuit of pleasure and/or happiness.

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95. Act 3

96. 
    

97. INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS

98. 
    

99. Peter is in thoughts.

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101. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Since my teens, I've decided to get as much out of life as I can.

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103. Pausing.

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105. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm now taking a universal perspective, linking my present being with humankind's past and future.

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107. Pausing.

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109. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Humans are the only intelligent species in this universe that would ponder about the future and could aggregate the outcome of knowledge transfer.

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111. Reflecting.

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113. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our philosophical sense of achievement and accomplishment comes from the optimization of our qualities and potential.

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115. Pausing.

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117. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe it's our mission is larger than ourselves. We're duty-bound to capture, create and deliver value to maintain and sustain the species of humankind in the universe.

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119. Reflecting.

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121. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As an instance of humankind, I've been doing small things consistently. And my voluntary work portfolios have been expanding.

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123. Pausing.

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125. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe I've been doing little things in great ways; and all big projects have small beginnings.

126. 
     

127. Peter begins to type his opinion on his phone.

128. 
     

129. THE END

130. 
     

131. FADE OUT.