In Pursuit of Happiness
January 26th, 2010
My dilemma:
I have not been consistent with my blog for several weeks now. The truth is that I am finding it more difficult to write about something. Not that there is nothing to write about. The world is full of it. But to write about something close to the heart, something that can make one’s fingers glide over the keyboards is one hell of a problem.
One day, while feeling remorse for having not done that which I love to do, the word “Happiness” popped into my mind, injecting a new resolve into my soul to write about the subject – one which a lot of people are chasing, yet finding not.
What is “happiness?”
In its simplest form, “Happiness” is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure or joy. What makes it so elusive to find is that, as a “state,” “happiness” is so dynamic and can exist, though momentarily, in different dimensions, i.e., philosophical, religious, psychological, biological, etc, at any time in our daily lives. The problem is to get hold of it for longer periods of time, to cherish, to value, never to let go.
In search for happiness:
Abd Er-Rahman III of Spain said:
“I have now reigned about 50 years in victory or peace, beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my felicity. In this situation, I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot. They amount to fourteen.
The above underscores the difficulty in finding pure and undiluted happiness that can last more than a whiff of a second. Albert Camus succinctly, opined of this difficulty when he said, “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
Looking within:
“But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?” adds Albert Camus, perhaps as an afterthought of the difficulty digesting the full meaning of what he earlier said.
Bringing us back to the dilemma of Abb Er-Rahman III of Spain. He had everything, yet can count only fourteen days of happiness within his 50-year rule. He had everything most of us would die for, yet he yearned for something a lot of us have – more days of happiness.
Or, are we really happy? Thus far, can we count more than fourteen days in our lives, wherein we were truly happy?
