Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of mirth In the book, You Learn by Living, Eleanor Roosevelt n nonp arils Happiness is non a goal it is a by-product(Roosevelt 95). When unmatcheds specific desire is fulfilled, feelings of comfort flourish. Therefore, felicitousness is the ultimate goal in life for many people in todays society because their life revolves around desire. That said, every mavins reading material of rejoicing varies. Some may believe wealth and cater exit bring them merriment, while others might argue that beauty and popularity will spot about them happy.Whatever the recipe of rejoicing may be, the product is universalthey all(a) produce feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Temporary pleasure and satisfaction, that is. What if the word eternal was inserted into the definition of happiness to say that it was a state of eternal well-organism and contentment? How would one sought to pursue this category of happiness? At the start of have One of The Consolation of school of t hought, Ancius Boethius, a learned official of the Roman conglomerate who awaits execution for unjust accusations, desolately rests in his jail cell, writing numbers and contemplating on life with the Muses of Poetry.He is soon interrupted by school of thought, who appears to him in the form of a lovely woman that is full of years, yet possesses a intense color and undiminished vigor (Boethius 2). As a physician treating a patient would, dame philosophy diagnoses Boethius with a serious illness, which she says she is here to cure, strange the Muses she calls hysterical sluts(Boethius 2) who is however here to take Reason away from him. When asked to encounter his wounds, Boethius begins to moan about the loss of superb fortune his wealth, his force-out, his friends, and even connectedness with his family.He goes on to complain that he is suffering unjustly in a state of complete innocence, blaming Fortune for taking away these goods. As for wench Philosophy, whether or not Boethius is a victim of Fortune (Boethius 4), as he calls himself, is simply not important. The fact that Boethius has fallen chthonic Fortunes spell, and forgotten troika important things his professedly nature, the end and purpose of things, and the means by which the domain is governed (Boethius, 10), depend to be the bigger issue since they are the main causes of his illness.Throughout all five books of The Consolations of Philosophy, in her intent to cure Boethius disease, Lady Philosophy corrects Boethius of the errors that caused his illnessthe main error being his misconception of how happiness can be achieved. When told of Boethius fulminant reversal of fortune, rather than feeling pity and empathy, Lady Philosophy scolds Boethius for affliction over tangible and earthly things like fame, wealth, and power. These goods, or rather sense slight goods can deceive to bring happiness, but it fails to satisfy the line up, eternal spirit.Wealth and power were merely gifts from Fortune that temporarily visited him by the wheel of Fortune. Moreover, Lady Philosophy is able to prove that they are in fact false goods because they were interpreted away from Boethius they did not be immense to Boethius. Lady Philosophy tells Boethius, Be not overcome by your misfortunes, for the gifts of fortune are fleeting and happiness is not to be found in temporal goods(Boethius 21). The things that are thought to stick us happy, wealth, honor, and power, have no actual value or power and therefore cannot truly make someone a happy person.Lady Philosophy further explains how these false goods unaccompanied evoke feelings of negativity. Wealth precisely leads oneself to avariciousness and further protection of himself, honor creates jealousy, and power is meaningless because it does not last. Lady Philosophy explains Why, the prefecture, which was once a great power, is now but an resign name(Boethius 23). These lesser goods, which hold less power than cosm os, cannot drive one to live a happy life only a greater good that is more powerful than man possesses that power. This leads to the next question How is reliable happiness achieved?In Book Two of The Consolation of Philosophy, Lady Philosophy thoroughly explains true happiness If I ask you whether there is anything more precious to you than your admit self, you will say no. So if you are in possession of yourself you will possess something you would never wish to omit and something Fortune could never take away(Boethius 23). She says that happiness cant consist in things governed by chance because true happiness cannot be taken away. She goes on to explain that nothing on earth can bring true happinessnot one that is eternal.The common belief of all mankind agrees that God, the supreme of the Heavens and the Earth is the highest good. True happiness comes from the desire for the faultless itself and the perfect GoodGod. Therefore, one can only attain true happiness through the pursuit of God through intellectual and religious means. On page 23 of Book Three, Lady Philosophy says yet by being like God, who is the highest good, can lasting happiness come to man. Everyone desires happiness, and happiness is identical with the good, therefore God and true happiness is of neness. She in like manner says that the good gain their reward automatically, since by being good, they attain the good, which is happiness. Furthermore, only our spirit and intellect can lead us to the true goodthe true happiness of the soul, God. As a strong believer, and child of God, it is only sensible that I agree with Lady Philosophy on her debate that only one high power offers true happiness. The all-powerful ecclesiastic of humankind motivates man to live a good, virtuous life under Him, which, according to Lady Philosophy defines true happiness.Seeking God, in many ways, is fit to seeking true happiness. The bible, which quotes the words of God, in many cases, teaches the man in God to strive for the higher goods that make up true happiness and, to keep away from what are the evils of false happiness in not only religious terms, but also philosophical terms. In psalm 374 of the New International Bible, it says Delight yourself in the cleric and He will give you the desires of your heart. The desires that the bible verse refers to are not casual wants that nature longs for, but midland nigh desires that satisfy the privileged soulthe true goods.The bible disfavors certain desires, in which Lady Philosophy would deal out false goods and the Bible refers to lusts. These desires are often described as cravings that long to satisfy physical appetite, like food, alcohol, sex, money, and pleasure. Once man rids himself of desire, he begins to be carefree, letting the mind be emotionally free, free of worry, confident, and at inner peace, reaching a state of happiness under God. Lastly, God rules the cosmea for the highest good, so man works to move toward that good according to their own will to be obedient towards the highest good, God.As I have begun to discuss above, I strongly believe that living a life for a higher power, rather than oneself, creates an optimistic state of mind, resulting in a more satisfied, happier person. interrogation shows that that religious people are happier and less stressed. Once one understands that the population is not governed by Fortune, but by a reasonable Creator, gloominess becomes absent because he is agreeing to Divine Providence. Giving reason to everything that happens makes life less distressful.Rather than staying in a state of despair, only a person in God understands that suffering leads to the sanity of reason and therefore, with suffering, happiness will be awarded at the end. It can also be said that the person in God is not only happy, but also virtuous because being good consists of being virtuous. In relation to what Lady Philosophy defines as false happiness in The Cons olation of Philosophy, someone who seems to have everything that most people desire, often times, suffers from severe depression. Marilyn Monroe is a great example.She had everything that many seem to think brings happinessbeauty, wealth, fame, sex appeal, and popularitybut she ended her life in suicide. It can be further argued that happiness consisting of anything other than the one God, cannot be everlasting. While these so-called false goods temporally satisfies ones self, the one real true good, the Creator, provides consolation that is eternal. In comparison to lesser goods, organized religion is a consistent element of happiness and good health. In explaining happiness to Boethius, Lady Philosophy says, Why, then, O mortal men, do you seek that happiness outside, which lies within yourselves? True happiness cannot be found through the senses. Happiness comes from within ones soul. It is not external. It is a by-product of an inner condition. It is not simply a temporary indul gence of pleasure. If one lives only for personal happiness, he will probably never find it. As American social writer and philosopher, Eric Hoffer said, The search for happiness is one of the question sources of unhappiness. Getting rid of the longing for false goods, or evil desires, is the initiatory step of achieving true happinessone that will last forevermore