Everybody gotta admit that we live in a dog eat dog world filled with competition and bragado on the latest purchases, be it Gucci, Samsung Galaxy, a million dollar house, etc, and in most instances, such purchases are bound to evoke envy and spite in the lives of certain people.

This leads to a rise in armed robbery, prostitution and all vices imaginable in today's society. So, few days ago, I kept wondering if our forefathers were indeed happier than our present generation.

We know that they were not materialistic as we are, but were contented to walk barefoot, (some of us want the best shoes), live in modest thatch roof homes, and at evenings, gather at the village square to regale one another with folk talks under moonlight.

We dare not incorporate that into our lives for fear of being left behind or worse, being ridiculed by our mates as being crass. Hence, the need to compete with another another, and the competition can be left brutal. But the quality of life in those days were not great, people walked miles and miles to places and even had to forego travelling because of the distance. In a whim, we can be in Paris, for a holiday as long as we have some money in our account. We can hop from one bar to another to sample exotic drinks (not kaikai or palmwine) and stroll to the mall for shopping.

But are we happier than our forefathers who did not have these privileges or were they happier?

they were happier

eat good food not proceseed.married many wives, had many sons who could pay back farm as early as 8
no useless carcinogens, many festivals

Civilisation is good but as im looking at it now, d negatives that come along with civilisation is much more than its positives, therefore, i can say they were happier than us, d way we are going to be happier than many generations that would be coming after us, because.............we are just starting, in terms of civilisation.
May God help us all.

Thanks for civilization,at last women have got a say in their own destiny.Ofcourse our forefathers were happier,what of our foremothers?There were a very sad lot.Civilization suits me just fine!!

Ndipe: Everybody gotta admit that we live in a dog eat dog world filled with competition and bragado on the latest purchases, be it Gucci, Samsung Galaxi, a million dollar house, etc, and in most instances, such purchases are bound to evoke envy and spite in the lives of certain people. This leads to a rise in armed robbery, prostitution and all vices imaginable in today's society. So, few days ago, I kept wondering if our forefathers were indeed happier than our present generation. We know that they were not materialistic as we are, but were contented to walk barefoot, (some of us want the best shoes), live in modest thatch roof homes, and at evenings, gather at the village square to regale one another with folk talks under moonlight. We dare not incorporate that into our lives for fear of being left behind or worse, being ridiculed by our mates as being crass. Hence, the need to compete with another another, and the competition can be left brutal. But the quality of life in those days were not great, people walked miles and miles to places and even had to forego travelling because of the distance. In a whim, we can be in Paris, for a holiday as long as we have some money in our account. We can hop from one bar to another to sample exotic drinks (not kaikai or palmwine) and stroll to the mall for shopping.

But are we happier than our forefathers who did not have these privileges or were they happier?

Happy being slaves or selling others off as slaves abi?. . .

OFCOURSE! THEY FOLLOWED BETTER RELIGIONS IN THE PAST!

Yes, at least They slept from night to morning without cellphones ringing every minute of the night!! they also never bothered to buy blackberry porche for their gfs, and they lived 100yrs+

@OP..ar u a learner? Ur question no try.apart frm any other fact,were our forefathers diein young?NØ.ther was closenes and unity in our diff.villages then..many reasns why they should be happier dan nw.

I don't know about been happy but they were more contented
Now our own generation says get rich (by every means possible even if you sell your soul to darkness) or die trying

Cos they didn't attach unnecessary importance to the things of the world.

This is wat people are saying, but i think its wrong, i thank God i dont belong to that creepy generation things were so babaric then, i never think there is something fun then!.. Damn it!

yes cuz they got good culture, less trouble, tradition,# even life more older than folks of nowadays

yes. ignorance was bliss and is still bliss

Marry virgins, eat fresh food, no improved medications yet lived stronger ,they had less expectations which can b fulfilled within a short period.

We are happier, our forefathers had no choices, even if my great grandfather had 1 billion naira, what will he have bought ? There were no phones and no SUVs. We are happier oh, but then again it depends on individuals. Some people are already suicidal in Lagos, so its best to relocate to villages that are like 18th Century panorama and try to be happier.

I don't think it's about not being materialistic. . .It was more about making do with what was available. They didn't have the things we have now, so it's not balanced to compare both.

However, I'm bet if some time was put into research, we will find out there were some things from their day they must have "fallen over themselves" (for lack of a better word) trying to achieve too. . .things we would probably go "For that? Really?" Hmmm! "

Anyhoo, I've always found it a time wasting task trying to use the "eyes" of today to make now vs then comparisons. Every generation thinks theirs is the worst until the next generation then theirs (the older generation) suddenly becomes the best.

Times-a-changing people. . .you can accept those changes without losing the core of who you are. Someone who wasn't materialist when there wasn't much will not be materialistic in abundance.

Blaming the society or the generation or the whatever else you can blame is just a cop out. People really need to start taking responsibilities for what they are.

Definitely, they were! Just think about it what is really there to celebrate in our today's world?

[img]http://www.learnweek.com/?r=casey001[/img]

I want to believe that they were happier.

They didn't have to worry about paying house rents. It was cheap to put up a building for the family. Food were all around them in their fresh and natural state. Harvest a few crops and you can pay for clothings. The only difference between the rich and the poor was the size of their farmland. However, witches and wizards were more active in those days.

In the days of our forefathers, life was much easier, women stayed home and took care of the kids, whilst the men where the bread winners..

Obviously things have changed now with some women even being the bread winners in some homes, the rise in technology and exposure to different cultures, environments etc.

I believe our forefathers had it better than this dispensation... But there are advantages and disadvantages to both side sha,!

They were actually happier because of the following factors: Contended,hardworking,less crime and astrocity,patience and the government was fair them.

No doubt, they have a fulfilling life than this present generation. But I m proud to be in this generation & also to witness civilization.

The were happier. But they suffered more too. My grandpa used to trek from Offa (present day Kwara) to Ibadan (Oyo state).

Our forefathers did not enjoy the benefic of civilization e.g good road, tele com ,computer e.t.c we re better of. Our forefathers were barbaric to the core.

On a slightly funny note, I remember my great grandmother regaling us with stories about dating and courtship in the old days and then went on to say how one of her mates married some man, even though he only had two tippers (apparently that wasn't rich enough) now tell me how that is different from what some ladies do today?

So you see, different times, different criteria. . .their criteria seems very simplistic to us now considering the wealth of things we have available but back then don't you think people who didn't have tippers will not do anything to own one?

The fact that what was important to them looks "small" in our eyes does not mean materialism and the many ills y'all are lamenting about today's generation did not affect them too.

D only thinq wen i nor like about nowadays,na jst dis end of the world period.If not we enjoy pass dem

they fought the civil war. I haven't been in any wars.
they fought slavery. I haven't been enslaved before.
they fought racism. I don't feel constrained by my complexion.

we have it easier than them

Progress and expansion also come with more challenges and tribulation. That is life

deal with it.

I clicked on this topic, expecting my fellow forumites to base their response to the question on facts and information that would educate an individual and at the same time challenge us the present generation to aim at replicating such things, which increased the quality of life of our fore fathers. what do I get? Incoherent ramblings about punnies and wives and so on.

While I am not amused by the supposedly harmless joke, I fully recognise that people's choices differs and anybody and everybody is entitled to their own opinion on a faceless forum. I also appreciate the importance of being in a good mood which helps with productivity and reducing stress. I take exception to the disregard for intelligent discuss when it would be detrimental to the eventual outcome of a great question as this. I believe in a public forum, the average individual would most likely base their response and replies on what their perception of what the thread is about, based on what the early commenters have inferred or stated.

Back to the topic. Happiness in itself is based on different yardsticks, although at the end of the day, it boils down to the individual. It is not far from the truth to link happiness to satisfaction, which is based on what an individual feels their aim and purpose in life is. Take for example a case of a person who is passionate about teaching kids and humanitarian activities, such an individual would not be bothered by how much they are being paid or their living conditions. This person would normally satisfied when they cause change in their environment, when one their students graduates, when a nation in crises becomes self sufficient and in peace as a result of their inputs. Having said all these, the present generation ( I am not stereotyping here, there are exceptions to this assumption) base their satisfaction in how many twitter followers they have, girls base they happiness on how rich their boyfriends are, how many iphone 5 they own and how many Christian Louboutin shoes they have, every young guy would want to be an artist wearing prada, popping Moet and Champagne, having girls chasing them. They are not at fault at all, and this applies to the developed countries as well. People are no longer interested in education, research is on the downward slope (unlike before when researchers and inventors would painstakingly go without food and money for years, to create a magnificent piece of invention). why is this happening? remains elusive to me, although someone somewhere might have figured it out, which would be a good idea as it would help in addressing the crisis.

While the present crop of youths are being influenced by alien cultures all thanks to the internet age, an individual somewhere in Timbuktu would do an Harlem shake or Gangnam style rather than sit down to plan his/her life. Our forefathers on the other hand are not easily distracted by all these possessions, they live happy lives. Why? because they have discovered the through meaning of fulfilment, they have identified how to meet their basic needs and building a system that works.

We should be careful not to confuse being ambitious with being greedy, nor should we confuse the quiet lives lived by our forefathers with the fast paced life we live in. They dont have an android phone (one of the greates piece of inventions), nor do they have an Ipad ( a recent study in UK found out that kids learn faster by interacting with a touchscreen device. this explains why young kids would easily get a hang of how to use an ipad before their mums) or a CRM application which manages a business operation. We in the present age would to some extent enjoy our lives and become happier, even much more than our forefathers, if only we can drop all the unnecessary baggages, and focus on influencing our work sphere and immediate environment.

hmmm

musiwa-x:
I clicked on this topic, expecting my fellow forumites to base their response to the question on facts and information that would educate an individual and at the same time challenge us the present generation to aim at replicating such things, which increased the quality of life of our fore fathers. what do I get? Incoherent ramblings about punnies and wives and so on.

While I am not amused by the supposedly harmless joke, I fully recognise that people's choices differs and anybody and everybody is entitled to their own opinion on a faceless forum. I also appreciate the importance of being in a good mood which helps with productivity and reducing stress. I take exception to the disregard for intelligent discuss when it would be detrimental to the eventual outcome of a great question as this. I believe in a public forum, the average individual would most likely base their response and replies on what their perception of what the thread is about, based on what the early commenters have inferred or stated.

Back to the topic. Happiness in itself is based on different yardsticks, although at the end of the day, it boils down to the individual. It is not far from the truth to link happiness to satisfaction, which is based on what an individual feels their aim and purpose in life is. Take for example a case of a person who is passionate about teaching kids and humanitarian activities, such an individual would not be bothered by how much they are being paid or their living conditions. This person would normally satisfied when they cause change in their environment, when one their students graduates, when a nation in crises becomes self sufficient and in peace as a result of their inputs. Having said all these, the present generation ( I am not stereotyping here, there are exceptions to this assumption) base their satisfaction in how many twitter followers they have, girls base they happiness on how rich their boyfriends are, how many iphone 5 they own and how many Christian Louboutin shoes they have, every young guy would want to be an artist wearing prada, popping Moet and Champagne, having girls chasing them. They are not at fault at all, and this applies to the developed countries as well. People are no longer interested in education, research is on the downward slope (unlike before when researchers and inventors would painstakingly go without food and money for years, to create a magnificent piece of invention). why is this happening? remains elusive to me, although someone somewhere might have figured it out, which would be a good idea as it would help in addressing the crisis.

While the present crop of youths are being influenced by alien cultures all thanks to the internet age, an individual somewhere in Timbuktu would do an Harlem shake or Gangnam style rather than sit down to plan his/her life. Our forefathers on the other hand are not easily distracted by all these possessions, they live happy lives. Why? because they have discovered the through meaning of fulfilment, they have identified how to meet their basic needs and building a system that works.

We should be careful not to confuse being ambitious with being greedy, nor should we confuse the quiet lives lived by our forefathers with the fast paced life we live in. They dont have an android phone (one of the greates piece of inventions), nor do they have an Ipad ( a recent study in UK found out that kids learn faster by interacting with a touchscreen device. this explains why young kids would easily get a hang of how to use an ipad before their mums) or a CRM application which manages a business operation. We in the present age would to some extent enjoy our lives and become happier, even much more than our forefathers, if only we can drop all the unnecessary baggages, and focus on influencing our work sphere and immediate environment.

Nice conclusion to a lubricious write-up.