Estimated reading time: 4 min.

Dear reader,

Welcome back to Guiding Words.

In the previous lesson, we talked about the conscious mind first and fundamental mistake and explain that serenity begins when the conscious mind realizes that its needs are not of the same nature as those of the body.

With the increase in global standards of living, the pursuit of happiness has become an increasingly important subject in modern society. We will then reflect, in this lesson, on the nature of happiness.

Let’s begin with some definition of the word happiness from three credible sources.

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines happiness as:

n. an emotion of joy, gladness, satisfaction, and well-being. 

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries defines it as:

the state of feeling or showing pleasure

Lastly, in their New York Times bestsellers book titled Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, Oprah Winfrey and Arthur Brooks argue that:

happiness is a direction, not a destination, and it encapsulates both good and bad moments. Happiness, Brooks explained, is a measure of enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning.

The most apparent common thread in these definitions is the strong association between happiness and positive emotions or feelings.

Feelings are born from our consciousness interacting with itself and the world outside itself. These constant interactions create experiences that are then categorized as positive or negative based on our personal and current interpretation of them. Generally speaking, we use the word happiness to describe positive experiences and unhappiness to describe negative ones.

However, if we collectively agree that the state of mind that we define as happiness is dependent on feelings, then the obvious conclusion is that happiness, in and of itself, is not sustainable because the experiences that create those feelings that we refer to as happiness (or unhappiness) are by nature constantly changing.

Therefore, the pursuit of happiness or setting happiness as a goal is both unreasonable and unachievable, because even if the feeling is achieved, the moment from which it was born cannot, by nature, be sustained. As long as happiness is defined by something as inconsistent as feelings, the obvious conclusion is that chasing it is a fool’s errand from which the best we can hope for is catching as many moments of it as possible.

It is worth asking, why do we stubbornly believe in and passionately seek that state which we refer to as happiness?

Let us answer this question through some Words of Art:

We seek happiness because our bodies were born with needs and, instincts as well as experience, has taught us that certain sets of actions could both fulfill those needs and even replace the pain associated with the feeling of something lacking with a sense of pleasure born from satisfying it. Because throughout our lives we have experienced countless cycles of pain born from a need and pleasure as a reward for the satisfaction of that need, we end up believing that maybe, just maybe, if we could satisfy every need or a very specific set of needs, we would hit a jackpot and that jackpot we’ve called it happiness.

The ideal of happiness is, therefore, the extension of the conscious mind first and fundamental mistake.

But, if the goal shouldn’t be happiness, then what should we strive for?

We should strive for something that will remain unchanged despite the transient nature of feelings, and that is Serenity.

Words of Art defines serenity as: the ability to live in the world without letting the world live inside oneself and the purpose of these Guiding Words is to provide you with the principles that will enable you to cultivate and deepen that idyllic state of Serenity.

       When happiness is dependent on conditions, Serenity is despite conditions.

And as you strive for Serenity, you can also aim to design a life optimized for the best that can be achieved under the heavens, which is, many moments of happiness.

This concludes our lesson on the nature of happiness. In the next lesson, we will explore the nature of emotions and feelings.

See you in three days and until then, may Serenity be upon you.

Didi

Question: After reading this lesson, do you understand why, instead of chasing happiness, we should strive to design a life optimized for moments of happiness?

Reply with a yes or no and feel free to go beyond two or three characters.

P.S.: I am trying to find the right words to convey my thoughts in a language that is not mine, so please pardon my mistakes and feel free to reply with any suggestions and/or corrections that can make this reading experience more enjoyable. 

P.P.S: If you find value in these Guiding Words and want to be part of the Words of Art community, please click here to learn more.