Happiness In Perspective

Happiness is a state of mind more than anything else. A humble street vendor can find joy where a billionaire would only see misery. Perhaps this is why Aristotle said that happiness depends on ourselves. Yet however we view happiness, it is a state that is coveted by all. We have devoted our lives practically to the pursuit of happiness. In fact, this is how a lot of advertisements work, by preying on our desire to be "happy and enjoy life."

Of course, we cannot discount chemical imbalances in the brain that can cause feelings of sadness and depression. For such cases, there are natural and herbal remedies such as the saffron herb that can help mitigate any physical or chemical imbalances.

In any case, I recently happened upon a nice article talking about the 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy. They're all common-sense advice, so try to read that article if you have the time.

Given our apparent obsession with happiness, I started to think through the idea that perhaps happiness is not really the purpose of life. Sounds like heresy, I know, given what I just stated earlier. After all, who doesn't look forward to a Friday night with friends? Or dinner at one's favorite restaurant? Or a dream vacation somewhere? A dream house? A dream job?

Let me clarify by saying that I think happiness is a necessary part of life, like air, but not necessarily the purpose of life. Let's think this through. For those who have meditated long enough, you may have had episodes of indescribable bliss. Many religions and sages have been consistent in mentioning the eternal joy and happiness of heaven, as well as accounts of peace and happiness experienced by some who had near death experiences. Don't we even term any experience of great bliss and happiness as a "taste of heaven?" They are all consistent: in the spiritual realms lie our true state of happiness. If that's the case, then happiness can't be the reason we incarnated. Why give up eternal happiness in heaven for temporary happiness mixed with suffering in the physical world?

There is something about difficulty and struggle (a staple of incarnated life) that is necessary for us. I don't have the answer to what that may be. It's something akin to the age old question: "Why am I here?" But if I were to make a guess, I would say this. When we are happy, we are contented, and when we're contented, we don't want things to change. Inertia builds up. However, evolution requires change and the ancient writings have made it clear that we all need to spiritually evolve. You get the picture.

However we may view our lives, I think it's important that we do not lose ourselves so much in the pursuit of happiness that we forget about everything else that makes life worthwhile, especially in these times when a lot of what we think will make us happy costs money (sometimes a lot of it), leading most people to think that money equals happiness. Yet how many times have we gotten what we desired only to ask: now what?

Albert Pike once said, "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." Of course, Albert Pike was a Freemason, but whatever views you may have about the Freemasons, there is no denying the truth of Pike's words. Perhaps this is what will help us view happiness in perspective.