“Happiness is the meaning and the
purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
― Aristotle
― Aristotle
Guess what? I read other blogs. I have
several that I greatly enjoy. I read insightful comments on Facebook
and Youtube and all over the internet. There is a common topic that
appears in some of the most intelligent people across the World Wide
Web. It's been approached in a lot of different ways, and it's what has been on my mind a lot lately, but in a bit of an unusual way. I'm sure it's
been addressed before, just as everything
has been addressed before.
I come across these
happiness posts that talk about what people have done in the grand
Search for Happiness. Over at Single Dad Laughing, Dan wrote a great
post called Stay-Miserable in which he discussed his Search for
Happiness. He has left his religion and divorced his wife in the
Search. Elsewhere, I've seen a man find happiness in his church, his
life, and his family. He offers some specific ideas about happiness
in one of his blog posts. Both are powerful.
Everyone searches
for happiness in different ways. Everyone has to make a journey of
their own that will take them all kinds of places that I have never
been. It's all for the sake of the Search. Somehow, everyone actually
agrees that happiness is what we should all be ultimately be looking
for. (That was a really simplified sentence. I could go on and on
about that, but that isn't what this post is about.) Okay, let's go
with that. Happiness. That is the goal of life.
How do we achieve
happiness? It is even achievable?
Now I sound like a college research paper. Never mind.
Now I sound like a college research paper. Never mind.
What I really want
to say is something that a lot of people are going to disagree with, I'm sure.
I get the feeling that a very select few will find themselves
nodding. It's a hard concept to grasp, and one that my words simply
cannot do justice to. This is an idea that goes far beyond words.
Questions like the
one stated above, or 'What is happiness?' are questions that I could
write volumes on. There isn't an easy answer, but I'm going to try,
in this post, to answer them to the absolute core. That means
skipping the basics and diving right in, so don't worry too much if
you find yourself floundering. I'm kind of a blunt person. I always
have to offer the simple, yes/no, honest answer even if it is hard to
grasp because the explanation isn't there in full. Just go with me.
There. Is. A.
Happiness.
It cannot be put
into words. It cannot be fathomed by those who have not felt it. It
cannot be explained by those who have. It is so powerful and so
driving that it simply does not fit into the human concept of
happiness.
Minor example of
this concept: Some people say drugs make them happy. Those who don't
do drugs in any form of excess understand that happiness is not
simply a buzzing, unconcerned satisfaction with everything.
Some people say
danger makes them happy (actually, I pass through this phase on
occasion). Those who don't engage in dangerous activity understand
that happiness is not simply a thrilling, free-spirited moment.
Some people say
that they have searched and they are still seeking happiness. Others
understand that happiness is a scale, and all of the above can indeed
be states of happiness.
Some
people believe they are happy. Whatever choices they have made,
wherever they are at, they are happy.
There. Is. A.
Happiness.
You've made the
difficult choices and taken the intelligent route and you are happy.
I agree, and I am glad that you are. Everyone deserves to be happy.
Really, they do. That is something that I wish on everyone, no matter
what they have done. I want everyone to be happy.
Automatically, you
see a problem with this. Happiness can come in the form of torture
and murder for sociopaths. So let's just say that as long as your
happiness doesn't infringe on anyone else's happiness, it can be
considered happiness. Sorry, but if it doesn't meet that standard,
then it is not happiness, no matter how good it feels. (Again, this
is something we could seriously delve into, but I'm trying to keep
things short.)
Some rhetorical
questions for you to think about: Is there a limit to happiness?
Where is the lowest point that can be considered happy? Is there a
highest point? Is there a 'real' happiness? What is the highest point
of happiness called? Euphoria? Bliss? Is happiness simply a state of
being, or something more?
There. Is. A.
Happiness.
I'm going to throw
out my opinion like it is fact. Maybe it is fact. But I don't want
you to fall into a trap created by my words. I want you to know that
everything on here is an opinion. It cannot be explained by science,
it cannot be contested by reason, and it can absolutely be rejected.
Here it is.
There is a
happiness that you have never felt. I suspect that the statistics go
to about one in...say...five hundred million. One in five hundred
million have a true understanding of this happiness. I wonder if I'm
being too generous.
I can
say that because I do not consider myself one of those five hundred
million, but I am someone who has a near
understanding of that happiness that cannot be expressed. Enough that
I can try to offer you a near understanding of it as well.
The
closest English word that matches this happiness is not euphoria or
bliss or understanding or serenity or security. The closest word is
peace. And let me tell you, peace does not
come from peace. Let me say that again. Peace simply does not come
from peace.
There. Is. A.
Happiness.
Things are hard.
The world in cruel. Crueler than I can even comprehend, though I've
tried. People are harsh. The mind is troubled. Sometimes, things
don't work out. And then it happens again. And again. And again.
This might be the
part where those who believe in a God wonder why he would do such
things to us. This might be the part where people start doubting
because there is no way God is that cruel. At the same time, this may
be the point where the atheists are glad there isn't one. Or maybe
they wish there was one. Or maybe they just laugh and point at the
believers because they would be in such turmoil in this situation.
Peace comes as a
result of what you see above. Trial. It is impossible for it to exist
indefinitely unless it is in full. The happiness I am explaining
doesn't simply stay. It comes and goes and we struggle and it
returns. That is, if we've ever even felt it. You haven't felt it,
but maybe you've felt an inkling of it. Somewhere deep down, you
know it's there, just as I know it's there.
The happiness I am
describing is absolutely discoverable. The beauty in it exists in the
fact that it cannot always be there, but it can be captured for a
time. Would you like me to tell you how?
I could try, but I
won't. I know that what I understand about that perfect happiness has
come from experience. I do not think there is any other way to learn
of it. This knowledge is something you must come to yourself.
There. Is. A.
Happiness.
I have lived many
years and I doubt that I have the time left to discover the rest of
that truth. I know that in this life, I will never completely
understand this happiness. Maybe those that come after will
understand this faster than I did and will make it farther than I
have. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that the Search
can either be the wisest move or the biggest waste of time. If you
are not searching out the peace and happiness I have tried to
describe above, you are wasting your time. No other happiness
matters. The Search is important, but make sure you are Searching for
the right thing.
I have gotten
close. I have felt the peace. I cannot describe it, not even to
myself. If there is an afterlife, I will continue to Search. I also
understand that in spite of the Search, this happiness comes to me. I
do not go to it. It will find me, if I am in the right place. The
Search is simply a journey to find that place.
I feel like I have
done an extremely inadequate job in explaining the Peace and
Happiness that exists somewhere beyond our comprehension. I don't
know if I will be around tomorrow to change the topic. But for today,
Peace is the true desire, something I am close to but to which I have
not arrived.
Peace and Happiness
are words that should be explained in detail and understood in their
fullness before reading this text. Maybe I'll write a book on them.
But that is not important now. You have come this far. Just
understand that there is something you may not yet see.Only those who have kept on going in the face of adversity, and at least once suffered from suffocating doubt and insecurity, can feel the
completeness of the Search.
If you feel it, you
will know. If you get just a taste, you will know. When you feel it,
chase it. It will slip away, but you will be closer than you were
before if you go after it when it is there. Intrinsically, you know
what it is.
Happiness cannot
exists without peace. Maybe that is the perfect way to explain all
that I have said. True happiness is a combination of both honest
happiness and perfected peace.
There. Is. A.
Happiness.
Strive for it.
* * *
That being said,
don't ever lose sight of yourself. Don't ever lose happiness
striving for happiness. Happiness is infinitely simple--maybe that's why it's so hard to explain. Don't ever judge others for decisions they
have made that are different from yours. Don't ever think that
because you haven't reached It, this thing called Perfection, that
you aren't perfect. The perfection that can actually be attained is
in the midst of Progression. Simply put...if you've stopped
progressing, you've stopped perfecting. Even if you're at the top,
you'll find yourself at the bottom. Just keep moving forward, don't
look back, and hope to be better in the Search for Happiness.