According to the philosopher Seneca, we all want to live happy lives, but when it comes to discerning what makes life happy, we are in the dark. Seneca believed there isn’t anything more talked of and less understood than the business of a happy life.
In Seneca’s On the Happy Life, he wrote,
It is every man’s wish and design; and yet not one of a thousand that knows wherein that happiness consists. We live, however, in blind and eager pursuit of it; and the more haste we make in a wrong way, the further we are from our journey’s end.
Therefore, the first task is to determine where we are headed and by what path. It is also wise to have an expert or someone who has already explored what we are advancing toward. A previous piece — How to be Happy, explored what some of the greatest thinkers had to say about happiness.
The Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “The greatest source of happiness is to know the source of unhappiness.” What is your greatest source of unhappiness? Is it something you can eliminate or at least minimize?
For Seneca, the foundation of happiness (and wisdom) is built on virtue. In On the Happy Life, Seneca explained,
Taking for granted that human happiness is founded upon wisdom and virtue we shall treat these two points in order as they lie: and, first, of wisdom; not in the latitude of its various operations but as it has only regard to the good life. Wisdom is a right understanding, a faculty of discerning good from evil; what is to be chosen, and what is rejected; a judgment grounded upon the value of things, and not the common opinion of them.
In our search for happiness, we must be wary of the worn and crowded paths. Similarly, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau asked: “Why should we build our happiness on the opinions of others when we can find it in our own hearts?”
To quote Seneca one last time, “Let us seek out what is best to do, not what is the most established practice, and what can place us in possession of eternal happiness, not what is approved by the crowd.”
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Until next time, be wise and be well,
JW
P.S. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question!