Barry's Blog

"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views...This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves." -Blaise Pascal

The accountant, the shipping clerk, the school teacher, the student-athlete, the office manager, the CEO, and every person we encounter through the day is seeking, in all they do, to be happy.  We might use different words to convey this idea, a life of purpose, significance, etc., but our quest for happiness is a universal quest, underlying all other activities.  Interestingly, from all the great thinkers reflecting on the topic of happiness throughout the centuries, we have probably inherited only three basic views of how to be happy. The first comes to us from the distant past, but it is also the view that dominates our contemporary landscape. It is the view that happiness comes through pleasure, so eloquently expressed through the late comedian George Burns (with apologies to the French philosopher Rousseau), "Happiness is a good mean, a good cigar and a good woman. Or a bad woman, depending on my much happiness you can stand." We may chuckle at Burn's observation, but it is this view of happiness that lies behind the modern quest for money, things, and insatiable pleasures in life. Yet, we know that money alone cannot buy happiness.

"Many who seem to be struggling with adversity are happy; many, amid great affluence, are utterly miserable." -Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Another view of what makes us happy lies not in pleasure, but peace. Many Americans speak of needing calm in their lives, and anxiety seems to have reached epidemic proportions. Even young children often complain of being "stressed out." Charlie Brown in a cartoon a few years ago expressed it well when he declared, "Even my anxieties have anxieties!!".Yet, we all know that the pace of modern life militates against calmness, as we find ourselves in an "instantaneous" culture of cell phones and "push" email! And while the Stoics were right in believing that peacefulness in our lives was invaluable, we humans don't grow amidst utter tranquility. We need action and problems and challenges to solve. Human happiness is  not  synonymous with one long nap, or neverending  leisure and vacations!

"It is vain to say that human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it." -George Eliot 

A third view of happiness suggests that we are at our best, feel our best, and do our best, when we are engaged in a worthy task. Interestingly, happiness never exists in passivity because it is, in reality, a dynamic phenomenon of participation in something that brings fulfillment. And when we are engaged in this sort of task, it is generally accompanied by peace and pleasure, both for a job well done.

"It is only well with me when I have a chisel in my hand." -Michelangelo

So how are we doing? Do our lives exhibit a balanced approach to happiness that involves pleasure, peace, and a passion for doing something worthwhile?

For FinishingWell,

Barry Morrow