Abstract
Happiness Jørgen Leth (bio) Translated by Martin Aitken (bio) I Do My Utmost I’m unable to be happy it’s hard for me I can’t work out how to become it but I do my utmost trying out various ways nothing helps Sometimes I’m almost happy as far as I can sense I investigate the situation immediately to find the cause and try to establish a formula but Happiness slips away between my fingers I suddenly discover that I no longer have any of it I’m not even almost happy anymore Now I’ve realized you have to train to be happy I’ve decided to put together a highly demanding program taking account of age, natural physique, special abilities I shall make myself deserving of it and I shall do all I can to keep it when I get it that’s one thing I understand at least. [End Page 59] Love For example I love a woman and am trying by means of Love to become truly happy but it’s not as simple as I once thought it was it’s no mean thing to achieve results in that way For example I love a woman and tell myself that now I must do all I can to make her happy it’s supposed to be a certain way of getting in on Happiness yourself but things aren’t as simple as that for example it’s no easy matter doing all you can to make your loved one happy even if you know exactly what you’ve got in you For example I love a woman and am determined to work my way slowly but surely toward Love to establish the particular order that Happiness must be but I who am never work-shy and certainly not without experience in Love discover that you can labor and toil and yet Love will remain an undone work and Happiness a puzzle. [End Page 60] Work I experiment with Work but it too leads nowhere or rather it helps while I do it but then not a moment more I try to immerse myself in jobs I want doing behind them is always the greater task of approaching Happiness I struggle with myself force myself to get started on the most difficult thing I can imagine I gain an understanding of certain things but afterward I understand nothing anymore I sit down to write words I know what I want and am almost able I want to talk about how life can be lived but regrettably talking about Happiness brings me no nearer Happiness. [End Page 61] Becoming Proficient In brief, I’m becoming proficient striving all the time to become better at what I can do I note every improvement anticipating a result that will afford me access to Happiness as long as I still believe in doing things well Yes, I’m becoming proficient I’m not always on form and I can always have a poor season but I’m learning more and more about how to prepare myself and I conduct statistics on the right times the moments at which to execute my attacks I’m becoming more proficient at recognizing my own strength and the weaknesses of others I’m becoming more proficient at holding back my overdeveloped heart gives me an advantage I must understand to employ skillfully and make my most vital weapon in brief, I’m becoming proficient. [End Page 62] Jørgen Leth Jørgen Leth is a poet, filmmaker, and journalist. He has published twenty-five books, including ten collections of poetry, most recently two best-selling memoir volumes under the title Det uperfekte menneske (The Imperfect Human). Leth is also known as a cycling commentator for Danish television, notably in the Tour de France. He lives mostly in Haiti and narrowly survived the earthquake there in January 2010. Martin Aitken Martin Aitken holds a PhD in linguistics and gave up university tenure to translate literature and listen to the Fall. His translations of Danish and English literature have appeared in book form and in many literary journals and periodicals, among them Agni...
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have