As you probably know, Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we have the “right to the pursuit of happiness”. Many become discouraged by this notion because they are able to attain the life and liberty portion, but not the happiness that Jefferson so confidently declared. This is because happiness is something that we can simply just pursue. Yet, many may also lean toward the notion that happiness is something within reach. I wish that I could agree with them and say that happiness is something that is attainable, but it’s not. The idea of finding sustainable happiness is an illusion. Everyone strives his or her whole life just to feel happy and accomplished, yet can one truly define happiness?
The human race tends to perceive happiness as something that we should be aiming to achieve. Even while living in a “happiness is everything” culture like America, doesn’t mean that we are more likely to be satisfied with our current lives. In fact, it is the very pursuit of happiness that tends to thwart happiness. Our constant pursuit of happiness can actually be harmful because once people start finding their identity in whether or not they are feeling happy that day, or putting every ounce of themselves into achieving that one goal that will finally make them happy, than we slowly start to loose the true meaning of life. Happiness void of meaning leads to a life of destruction. I think that many people get confused when it comes to the difference between happiness and meaning. Just plain happiness characterizes a relatively shallow, selfish lifestyle where one desires only to satisfy ones own wants and needs. This kind of person would include a “taker”, in other words someone who takes and takes yet never gives a second thought to giving. However, meaning is derived from contributing to others or society in a grander spectrum. So, our problem occurs once we allow the happiness to outweigh the meaning in our lives.
Happiness is simply an emotion, a feeling. These wistful subjects are fleeting and change within seconds. Yes, we all have these fleeting moments of happiness that seem so wonderful that it temporarily stops time and gets stored away in your memory forever. The sound of the whole gymnasium clapping and stomping their feet as you shoot the winning basket, or the notable day that your crush finally likes you back, or the moment your lips touch another’s for the first time as you two escape to another world, or as you watch your stunning bride walk down the asile and begin forever with her. Moments like these are what make life worth living at times, but that’s just it. They are moments that once occur, will never happen again, so what do you do then? Wait for the next happy moment? No, see that is what someone without meaning would do, they would simply wait. Yet, once your life has meaning you no longer rely on the “happy moments” to come around; instead, when those moments where it seems that the whole world is against you occur, you are able to make it to the other side stronger than you ever were before.
I strongly believe that happiness is something that, if pursued, will destroy and forever tarnish ones life. You look at a young child and see the smile on their face and the joy in their eyes, and you wonder, “How is that possible? Is that young child simply better at achieving happiness than I am?” The answer to these questions is simple. As a child, we are innocent. We do not know of the evils that this dark world contains. A child actually trusts the world and believes that the world is pure and full of laughter and smiles. As humans, we go about thinking this way until the world proves us wrong, and that day, I guarantee, is locked away in your memory for eternity. No matter how bad you wish that memory would disappear, it will refuse. This is because that memory marks the day that you lost your “happiness innocence”. You now no longer believe that the world is on your side, you feel alone and desperate for that feeling of true happiness to come back, yet it never will. It’s almost like a deadly disease, once exposed, there’s no going back. Moments like these could include the night that your father stumbled into the house drunk and angry, or the moment you laid the light pink carnations atop your grandfather’s casket then watched helplessly as they lowered your best friend into the ground, forever seared into your heart, or when you watch the passion fade from your little girls eyes as she is forced to become what the world wanted her to be.
Sadly, we aren’t warned about these moments as we grow up. For example, my mom never warned me about the sickness that starts from inside when my heart felt so broken that I couldn’t imagine how it still pumped. She didn’t warn me that I would have to force myself to stand and walk on towards my grandfather’s open casket as I slip in and out of consciousness. She didn’t tell me that my tears would burn the flesh off my skin as they roll down my checks like a waterfall as I say my last goodbye. She forgot to mention the pain that travels through lying words and fake smiles and pretty green eyes that you think sparkle just for you. But she did remind me everyday that I am not alone, and that I have someone great and mighty fighting for me and carrying me through everyday.
The notion that happiness is sustainable throughout life is a false ideology. However, I believe that true joy is sustainable. Joy is knowing you have a meaning in life greater than getting accepted into a top college. Joy is knowing that your creator loves you and that his deepest desire is a relationship with you. Joy is attainable through a life that involves meaning. Joy is believing that Jesus is on your side and smiles whenever you smile, and cry’s whenever you cry. Joy is knowing each and everyday that there is hope for this lost and lonely world. Joy is serving others and getting rewarded by witnessing the smile on their face and the gratefulness in their heart. Joy is loving others more than you love yourself. Joy is forgiving those who hurt you, and moving on. Joy is a meaning in itself. We should pursue a life with meaning, and life of joy. Yes, there will be both of those moments of excitement and freshness, and those moments of hurts and scares, but during both of those moments, if we start to instead look for what we have been blessed with than look for all the negatives, we can remember our joy and hold it close and dear to our hearts. Joy doesn’t just go away, it isn’t a feeling or emotion. Joy is rooted in Jesus and a life full of meaning can only be found within his inevitable truth.
