Stories

Happiness, alegria, bonheur, 幸せ.  Although these all look and sound like completely different words, they all mean the same thing: joy. 

The one constant in life. That of which everyone seeks but never truly finds. Early on in philosophy classes I studied the idea of joy, or in my case “bonheur”. The ever lasting question: “Is happiness achievable?” 

On first thought, the answer is an obvious yes. Although we may not have found it yet, someday, someway, with someone, we will find happiness. But even then, if we have the “perfect” life, filled with love, empathy, and peace have we truly found happiness? There’s an argument to be made that humans never truly find happiness. The happiness actually comes from the journey in a never ending quest towards that very goal. 

The crest of the mountain is only as high as the troth of the valley. Through our lives, we experience all sorts of feelings: disappointment, desire, hope, anger, jealousy. And through these experiences, through these storms we must weather, we gain a sene of appreciation for the calm waters that flow our way. A cup of coffee that tastes just right, an early morning hike with friends, an errant joke delivered by a stranger on the bus, these are the moments of happiness that keep us in pursuit of the one goal we will never reach. Moments where we feel the most alive. Not because we found some bigger purpose, but because we felt the moment as it was and as it lasted. 

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever” - Keats