What makes a happy life?
Every one of us wants a happy life, but no two of us want exactly the same things, so, it is not easy to lay down hard and fast rules. A great deal depends on the gifts and the temperament born in us. Some need no human companionship and would therefore be happy as hermits or recluses, or following an isolated occupation in remote place, while others need family and friends around them. Some are cut out for adventure, while others are happier in mundane pursuits. Some desire power or prestige, while others can only be satisfied by a vocation, such as the medical profession. It is therefore impossible to do more than generalize about the conditions which make for happiness. but one thing is certain; happiness has little to do with the possession or lack of material things — it belongs to the mind, and its secret is the discovery of contentment and the gift of making the best of what is available.
The basic, if unrealized pre-requisite of happiness is the good fortune to live in a free, settled and well-governed community. Bad government, the restriction of freedom, the incidence of crime and violence and the absence of the rule of the law-all these make for unsettled and therefore unhappy living. Security, justice, fair taxation, police protection, and a progressive community life lay the foundations of the happiness of the individual.
The importance in happiness of having the right job cannot be over-emphasized. Those who are condemned to dull, blind-alley, insecure jobs are never really happy. Preferably, the job will be a selected one, requiring a training, and offering progress to a position of responsibility rather than an occupation taken, because there is no choice. When this amounts to a ‘vocation’ — so much the better; at least the bulk of the main’s or the woman’s working hours will be happily filled. Women’s lives, except in the sphere of paid employment, tend to run along different lines, but the main considerations, none the less, apply. It might be added that most women want a good home, children, and a kind and loving husband.
This leads to the setting of a happy life, which for most people is the home and the married state. A good wife or husband makes the other partner feel ‘wanted,’ gives him or her added incentive to work harder and gain some success. Such a setting is a great source of encouragement, as well as a sound defense against loneliness and the harshness and indifference of the outside world. Where marriage is not possible, at least a community life is available through clubs and societies. This helps to provide enjoyable leisure activities of various kinds.
Money may be the ‘root of all evil’, but in the modern world, it is impossible to live happily without it. That is not to say there is any relation between happiness and material things — there isn’t; but lack of money brings hardship, hunger and ugliness into life. Perhaps, the guiding principle is to earn enough to cover all reasonable needs, provide leisure activities, and pay for emergencies and holidays, and after this, not to worry too much about money.
Good health is of great importance. Healthy people do not realize how priceless is their possession, until they fall ill — it is the key to all enjoyment, and its loss means that every other pleasure is affected. There are those, who, through religion and philosophy achieve happiness in the midst of pain. But such achievement is beyond the powers of most of us. If we begin with good health, we should show or gratitude by doing all we can to preserve it — living active and healthy lives, free from vice and excess. Happiness for the human being always seems to involve activity rather than rest. We have a built-in restlessness of mind and body, which completely separates us from the animal world. We must always be doing, planning, and thinking ahead. Believing that our object is ultimate rest and perpetual relaxation, we discover, paradoxically, that the true happiness lies not in searching for the goal, but in the struggle to get there. It is only the energetic, fully-extended person who is fully at peace.
But given all these things, the lack of a faith, a morality, an optimistic philosophy will turn them all to ‘dust and ashes.’ We have been made moral and religious creatures, and the sincere effort to live according to the highest precepts, we know, is the ultimate basis of happiness.
