The Meaning of Life and Other Vegetables

Hello all.

Having thought a little more about Happiness, as I suggested thinking about it here, I realised that seeking it might be a paradox. I will try to explain how.

We all want Happiness, right? Now, most of us feel that we could be (and maybe deserve to be) happier, and that we’re “not quite there yet”. That there might be more Happiness for us, out there, somehow, somewhere. We are only so happy as we are, but that is not – should not – be the final word. Hence, we perceive a contentment gap. We are not quite fully content with our Happiness situation…

Now, remember – I observed that there are two ways to shrink a contentment gap (and who doesn’t want to get closer to their ultimate Happiness?…): “From below” or “from above”. In other words: Work towards improving the current situation in the direction of the perceived ultimate good – “from below”; or work on lowering expectations / the perception of what can be (maybe ought to be) – “from above”.

So, we set to the work of becoming happier (reaching a higher level of Happiness). We might do it through reading books, meditating, listening to gurus, going on retreats – whatnot. All of that falls in the realm of closing the gap “from below”. Because closing it “from above” means letting go of the expectation – letting go of wanting to improve our Happiness, or seeking any Happiness altogether. Right?

Now, remember also that I postulated that Happiness CANNOT be achieved through closing the contentment gap from below. We can certainly become more content that way, and thus “working on our Happiness” in all the ways listed above (and similar others) may well lead to great contentment. At least a certain kind of contentment. However, it will not lead to Happiness, because the only way to achieve Happiness is by letting go of expectations and aspirations, including the aspiration for Happiness…

The end result of this line of thought is that we can never achieve Happiness by trying to achieve it. That means Happiness can only happen to us (I just noticed the similarity between the words happen and happiness – odd, isn’t it?). And so, we might as well stop trying. Maybe that’s the key – stop trying so hard. Stop chasing happiness. Instead, choose Happenness…

Peace to all.