On Happiness, part 1

            People are obsessed with the idea of happiness.  Just visit your local bookstore, if it even still exists, and walk down the Self Help/Psychology section.  You will find thousands of books with the word "happy"or "happiness"in their titles.  This happiness industry flourishes because no one can actually define the meaning of happiness.  I am not sure that I can, either.  But I believe that I can tell you exactly what it is NOT.  Happiness is not pleasure;/ happiness is not success; and happiness is not security.

            Pleasure is good.  Who doesn't enjoy the taste of good food when we are hungry, or the oblivion of sleep when we are tired, or the ecstasy of orgasm when we are--well, just about always?  Pleasure is intense and wonderful, but, alas, it is so temporary!  No matter how delicious our dinner, no matter how comfortable our bed, no matter how erotic our lover, in a short time we will have recovered ourselves to a sort of baseline existence.  What follows for most of us is a mindless march until we can experience the next pleasure.  Surely this is not happiness, but, instead, long periods of routine punctuated by brief moments of delirium.

            Success is impressive.  We admire the rich and famous.  We watch and listen to the words of the powerful.  We envy the beautiful.  Success, however, never depends on who the individual is, nor on what the individual does.  No, instead, success relies on the perceptions of others.  No matter how much money, or beauty, or talent a person has, success derives from what the rest of us think.  Have you ever noticed how many so-called successful people feel inferior, inadequate, or even depressed to the point of suicide?  Surely this is not happiness, but, instead, an endless struggle to satisfy public opinion.

            Security is nonexistent.  Whatever house in which we live, whatever money we have saved, whatever health we have enjoyed, all, all can be taken from us in a flash of lightning.  Ultimately, we cannot hide from the inevitable; we will grow old, we will break down, and we will die.  If we are lucky, that is.  Depressing? You bet.  Security is nothing but the illusion that we can protect ourselves from the randomness of our universe.  And oftentimes those who worry most about being secure are those least likely to actually feel safe.  Surely this is not happiness, but, instead, an attempt to control the accidents of our lives.

            If we are going to get a handle on this elusive notion of happiness, we need to recognize and reject the temporary methods we employ to avoid accepting responsibility for our sense of well-being.  Our lives are enriched by pleasure; our lives are sweetened by success; our lives are softened by security.  But it is all too possible to have all three of these illusions yet still feel profoundly UN-happy.  When we learn to accept the dismal frailty of life, only then can we  begin to construct a philosophy of happiness.