happiness.

-Whether it is or is not possible to be happy I cannot say. I see varying levels of happiness as corresponding levels of blissful ignorance of one’s misery.-

I took a basic ethics course my freshman year of college for which I was assigned an article on the issue of subjective happiness, stemming from the issue of whether an absolute right and wrong existed. This statement was made, and it stuck with me. In a strict sense, it is true – my dog loves having her ears scratched and seems to consider it the utmost source of happiness, but I could make the argument that the happiness I experience in the beauty of a spectacular sunset or in wonderful close friendships is so much more desireable, and she is simply unaware that she is missing out. Are we experiencing similar levels of happiness only because she is not aware that such things can be enjoyed? Are we experiencing similar levels of happiness at all? Is there any way to know or any reason to ask that question?

Ultimately, I don’t know and I don’t think it’s vital that I try to understand it. But I will say this – I have been blessed with a life full of joy, even in some of the worst circumstances. If I even try to use someone else’s life as a standard for happiness, I will either end up too satisfied or too discontent. So many times I get “the grass is always greener” syndrome, where I assume that if I had THAT __________ , life would be better. Other times, I have the reverse problem when I assume that since I don’t have to deal with __________ or didn’t get mixed up in __________ , I must be so much happier than the person to whom those blanks apply.

Truth is, it doesn’t matter. I could spend the rest of my life analyzing whether or not I am happy living it. Ultimately, I would NOT be happy because I really don’t enjoy philosophical thought beyond a reasonable point. And the point of life (though I can’t give you a short and sweet philosophical definition for that either) is not my happiness – that’s just a byproduct.

I’m going to spend the rest of my life enjoying what I can and intentionally avoiding situations in which I might find myself becoming discontent based on my perception of someone else’s life. Call me escapist, I don’t care – I have much more important things to live for.