Happy on the Inside

There is a type of happiness that varies from person to person and that is based on circumstance. Some find Disneyland to be the happiest place on Earth, while others would rather go to Yellowstone. Some are happy when they sitting under a tree reading a book, while others would rather be at a party making new friends. Personally, I’m happy lying on the beach listening to Jack Johnson or devouring a feast with my friends and family featuring my mother’s specially made ribs. These moments of happiness bring us out of a dreary existence and it can stand to reason that if we were able to surround ourselves with these things that are uniquely perfect to us, we would never be sad or angry again. We could be fulfilled in having these things around us all the time.

However, this circumstantial happiness is not what I am interested in. Instead, I find myself looking for happiness that is common to all of humanity, some singular achievement that all men are working toward. A type of happiness that persists in good times and terrible times. A type of contentment that exists through all situations. A lasting peace. Joy. Happiness on the inside. 

Some people that I have talked to do not believe that this type of happiness is possible, and from many perspectives, I can see why. At best, this happiness seems to be a lofty, ideological virtue, theoretical yet not practical. And on some level, I agree with this belief. If there is such a thing as happiness on the inside, then it must be something really difficult to reach, else we'd have more people believing it. So, it is by no means an easy thing to reach. But it would last.

The main problem with circumstantial happiness is that it lasts for a moment. Sure it feels fantastic when it comes, but it's just as short as any other feeling. It might be true that these moments are all that we have, and that the only way to be happy is to find a way to make these moments last forever. However, if this is the only way to find happiness, then that is must argue that this method is not only impractical, but also self-involved. These moments are far too unstable to be able to last forever, not to mention that they often come about through inconveniencing another. This is why I certainly hope that there is a happiness that all humanity is working toward, a goal we can all share in instead of fight each other for.

I lack the words and logic to try and describe what this ending might be, but I can wager a guess as to what would happen if we were to finally see it. For one, I’d guess that we would want to share it with others. Selfishly, we would want the help in reaching the goal, but I’d guess that a goal that unites people would be something that couldn’t be sought after selfishly. A goal that brings people together in harmony is hardly something that can properly be celebrated alone.

If there is a common goal that all humanity can reach towards, I sincerely doubt that we can reach this goal in our lifetime, which I know sounds like a cheap statement. “Best to be good now, but I cannot promise that you will ever be happy, just trust that you will be later. Just keep going for it though and do as I say.” But I am not trying to promise that there is an afterlife, I’m just giving you my thoughts. But if there is something that all humanity is reaching toward, I’d be willing to hope in an afterlife so I could reach it.  Pascal’s wager is often misquoted. People tend to use it to say “see how bad Hell is, it is worth it to believe in something better.” Pascal, as far as I can tell, meant it as “see how good Heaven is, why would you bother pursuing anything else?”

If there is an ultimate, permanent, happy ending for humanity, I’d be alright with dying to get to it.

This is a thought that I cannot completely grasp. If we are to be happy on the inside and to find joy even in the most difficult situations, we must believe in a happy ending. I was told by a friend that there are two ways to interpret situations after our initial feelings: sorrow and joy. It is not quite the same as “every cloud having a silver lining” or “seeing the cup as half full,” but it is similar. If you believe that the world will end in despair, then every event, either happy or sad, will be leading toward despair. You can be happy, but you know that it will eventually change and that is a reason to despair. If you believe that the world will end in joy, then every event, either happy or sad, will be leading toward joy. You can be sad, but you know that it will eventually change and that is a reason to rejoice.

Though, even as I finish this, I hesitate because I know that these words are very familiar to several people. Words like this are often used to oppress and schism instead of unify. Dictators and religious fanatics promise happiness to people if they will only do as they are instructed. They are promised joy in a next life through doing terrible things in this life. A promise of unity and eternal joy is often used to oppress and blind people. But, the problem is, those who changed the world for the better often believed in a common humanity and better lives. They believed that there was some goal that humanity could work toward.

Yet as the saying goes, you can judge a tree by its fruit. Dictators will be judged to be dictators, and good men will be judged to be good men. You need to observe, be prudent, and be wise.

Here is my final belief on the subject. If you believe that the end to humanity can be a happy one and if there is actually a happy ending, then you will find it. You can be joyful in all circumstances, even the sad ones because all circumstances can bring you toward this perfect end. You have the freedom to say that something is sad, but that it is joyful at the same time. I cannot tell you what this end is, but that is mostly because itis beyond the scope of my blog and it is not something that I have a strong grasp on (not to mention that I lack the narrative skill to do it). But I hope and look forward to the time when all will be happy and that it will never end, and right now I can be content in my pursuit of it. To be happy on the inside, I believe, means to have made the choice to find the joy in all things. Not because you have to forsake reason to do it, but because you know that the world will end well.

Thank you to my friends who have spoken with me and have shared their thoughts with me so that I could write this. You have made me a happier man.