Confidence

The more rational a person is, it is reasonable to assume the greater his capacity for true happiness. Children have less capacity to understand and are easily swayed. It seems the virtue that goes with happiness is somewhat enhanced by experience and maturity. But even when someone experiences a good life and falls into misfortune later in life we don’t call him happy.

Does this mean that complete happiness is unachievable? Some go as far as saying that complete happiness is only found in the afterlife. Since we connect happiness with good activities on the earth, this is an absurd conclusion. Maybe they mean that the potential for misfortune and evil ends with death. This has its contradictions also because these same people treat the dead as though they see what we are doing. If this is true, then the misfortunes of his descendants will cause him unhappiness. If the dead experience what we do, then fortunes and misfortunes will continue and be observed. This makes the saying “Only the dead are happy” not make sense at all. It also avoids the question we are asking. What is a happy life?

 Does one have to be at the end of his life and look back to truly have had a happy life? This presents a paradox.We want to live well each day but while we have the future looming over our heads, there is also potential for a loss of happiness. We want it to be something more permanent. Let’s look at the variables. It cannot come from fortunes since they come and go. A person who depends on them is like a chameleon, changing from happiness to wretched throughout life. Success and failure in life do not depend on fortunes but they are mere additions. Virtuous activities toward oneself and others are the essence of true happiness.

We can say with certainty that no function of man brings as much stability as virtuous activities. Science may change as does our knowledge of things. What is the most valuable is also the most durable and unchanging. A person who is happy by possessing virtue is better at studying science and will enjoy it all the more. The person who is engaged in virtuous action and contemplation will bear changes in life nobly and decorously. This person will be considered good and beyond reproach.

We can have small misfortunes that don’t take away happiness, while a lot of great events will add to our happiness. If a person appreciates great events, they add beauty to life. But when things turn out bad, they can maim happiness and bring pain and hindrances. Nobility shines through during these times as a person bears with resignation many misfortunes. Not by becoming insensitive to the pains and avoiding them but the soul possesses greatness and nobility.  These are the characteristics that bring happiness to our lives. A person who is happy in this way can never become hateful and mean. This truly good and wise person takes changes in life and makes the best out of the circumstances; in the same way a shoemaker will make the best use of the hides given to him. True happiness cannot be taken away and although we might not call that person blessed, we can always call him happy. So virtue is necessary for happiness and it will also carry you through when misfortune hits.

A person of integrity isn't many colored and changeable. He cannot be swayed from his happy state easily. Even if disaster falls, he will recover his happiness in a short time; confident that if he continues to do what is right, things will fall into place.