Reality

 Aristotle mentions love in the sense of what a person enjoys and therefore desires. This is an important part of happiness, but only after virtue, which is the way to keep our human vehicle from crashing. It is hard to love someone properly when you are consumed in an addiction. It is hard make use of your talents when no one allows you near them because you are a thief. Having good character is at the core of being able to enjoy anything we love. Books and entertainment today disconnect the two to keep an interesting storyline. They present the hypothetical that we might just be able to do everything we desire without any consequences. Of course it sounds fun. Armed robbers are glorified as a nice people just wanting to get by.  The reality of what it takes to be willing to kill for a dollar is concealed in these stories. The victim’s loss of hard earned possessions and the agony of the loss of life are disregarded. Entertainers might give the impression that a casual affair is desirable and doesn’t hurt anyone. But the contrary is true. The two people involved are the first to be racked with guilt. It stays for a lifetime. Their spouses are stuck with a mixture of hatred, disappointment and grief.  The intensity may wane with the years but the feelings never leave. There is shame that is experienced from the loss of good character toward children and friends. The reality is that the only people who can successfully do these things casually are those with a “maimed virtue” or “seared conscience”. They are the sort of people we have to be careful around and have despised in the past. That is why character is so important. It is better to be reality happy than delusional happy. You may have heard “Be careful, you might get what you wish for.”  That is what we are talking about when we say virtue. Getting what we love the wrong way is the surest way to an unhappy life. We have all seen examples of this in the lives of those around us.