Read this essay recently, “The happiness ruse“, which was a timely read for me and an encouraging one. I’ve long held to the belief that life will ebb and flow, and that we must take the hard times with the good, and not just take them but learn from them. Not only can hard times be times in which we learn and grow in strength and wisdom, they also give the good times more meaning. What is up unless there is down?
The essay argues for an Epicurean understanding of happiness, which is closer to what was meant by the idea until more modern times:
The Epicurean outlook on happiness – which Thomas Jefferson was thinking of when he enjoined Americans to cherish ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ in the Declaration of Independence – is exceedingly simple and different. As Epicurus saw it, happiness is merely the lack of aponia – physical pain – and ataraxia – mental disturbance. It was not about the pursuit of material gain, or notching up gratifying experiences, but instead was a happiness that lent itself to a constant gratefulness.
But it goes further than this, and upholds the value of the down times as well:
Sadness is a sharpening emotion. It keeps us alert. It makes us investigate ourselves more profoundly and more unsparingly. To be sad is to be keenly attuned to the world.
Some of the arguments were, I think, fairly Biblical, at least in the sense of the value of contentment and the eschewing of relentless pleasure seeking. Indeed, seeking pleasure is counterproductive:
But if we continue to allow ourselves to be manipulated into pining after peak experiences, then we leave ourselves open not only to market manipulation but also to loneliness, poor judgment and, ironically, an abiding sadness. Epicurean happiness might not always make us ‘happy’ in the sense that we now use the word synonymously with being in an upbeat mood. But life would not be worth living if it floated only between peak experiences…
What if, instead, happiness was something that we realised ebbs and flows, that negativity is fundamental to life and, ironically, to our happiness? What if we reconditioned ourselves: not to want but to be satisfied in all feelings?
This has echoes of Philippians, and insofar as our modern understanding of “happiness” approaches something more akin to “pleasure” or “peak experiences”, it also echoes, say, Ecclesiastes 2, or the warning in Proverbs: “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man.”
The self-defeating pursuit of happiness, not the Jeffersonian/Epicurean kind but the Madison Avenue/Hollywood kind, will only lead to disappointment and dissatisfaction. We will always need more. The article quotes the fictional ad man Don Draper:
What is happiness? It’s the moment before you need more happiness.
I read this shortly after an extended time of deep sadness (or some combination of deeply negative emotions) that was way outside what I would consider to be within the normal range of life’s ups and downs. I can, now, see some positive effects this has had (I have grown through it, and have examined various things I probably really needed to examine), and may, soon, be ready to consider the trial a joy. Despite that it is hard to see this as being contemplated by the article. Nevertheless, I was encouraged by this article and reminded that sadness and other negative experiences are not to be run from at all costs, and are a natural and healthy part of human existence (at least in this fallen world), and may even bring lasting benefit.
Meanwhile, better than any understanding of happiness, true and lasting joy and peace is available.
Thought Too Indefinite 