The Definition of Happiness

By James Zheng

So, happiness. What would be the definition of it? A state of feeling content? Achieving an ultimate goal of life? Or an existence, void, a nothingness that is unreachable? Well, this should be an open-to-opinions question. At least we know that happiness is sometimes dependent on other things. 

I think, learning about happiness is based on each individual’s perspective. A thousand readers could visualize a thousand different Hamlets; a thousand individuals could also visualize their happiness in a thousand different ways. And, I think, happiness is primarily and mostly decided by one’s condition; not only that, it is also decided by desire. If you compare a wanderer and a millionaire, the difference is quite transparent. By talking about desire, it is divided into the short-term desire and long-term desire; one could be the wish for a random gift, and another could be the ambition of buying a house in Beverly Hills. One thing that is permanently the same about these two types of desire is that once you fulfill them, they would stack up. New desires would spring up. If you really bought a house in Beverly Hills, would you find your happiness there? All you have is a material presence that makes you content for a while and nothing else. 

Schopenhauer has said, We cannot obtain true happiness, all we can do is reduce suffering. And he has also mentioned that most of the time suffering is driven by desires; once you fulfill these desires, you feel content yet there will be another one. If you are unable to fulfill the desire, you only feel the suffering and powerlessness. Despite Schopenhauer’s pessimistic view on happiness, I think that we could obtain happiness in some ways. Indeed, true happiness can not be acquired, but what if each individual truly spent time contemplating his life: what I have and what do I truly need for happiness? When he finds out that answer, he may find that he doesn’t need a large pack of money but just a warm family. Is happiness a material object? Or, is it a pursuit, a goal of life? 

In conclusion, happiness is more a self-decided matter. Some people choose to follow their heart, while some choose to follow the reality; the difference is that one is to seek what one genuinely wants to forge happiness and another one is to find things for satisfaction that are not always for the purpose of happiness–like feeding your family. It doesn’t matter which form your pursuit of happiness takes, just slow down a second, and ask yourself, “Is this what I wanted?” 

Happiness Editor: Chelsea