Understanding Happiness

Understanding Happiness

When I think about happiness I imagine me being able to pursue what I love and completing my daily tasks at hand. By that I mean Being able to pursue a career in the arts whether it be in Music or Cinema or even both. While being able to support myself and my family and live a comfortable life while giving back to those who helped me. For me Happiness is a balance of pursuing something or things you love to do but also putting in the work for a happy life. The balance of these two may be different for each individual, but once you find your balance life will become easier and you will have a better outlook on life. Looking back on how I came up with this idea of happiness it really came from a mixture of experience and lessons that happened in my life till now. This idea really wrapped it’s self in my after reading the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. In particular one segment of the story where the Boy (main character) is in search to find what real happiness is.

In this segment the boy goes on a quest to meet and talk to a famous wise man that has traveled the world to ask him the question, of what is real happiness? So the boy leaves home and travels through the desert for forty days. Finally reaching a beautiful castle high on top of a mountain where the wise man lives. When he entered the main room he didn’t a see saintly men. He saw a hive of activity. There were trades men, a fine orchestra playing, and a platter of some of the most delicious food in the world. In the center the wise man stood with people crowded around him to ask him questions. The boy had to wait for two hours to speak with the wise man. Once the time passes the boy told him of his story of why he came. The wise man suggested that he look around the place and in two hours come back, but he gave him the task of carrying a spoon full of oil and not to drop any of it. So the boy left with his eyes fixated on the spoon walking around the palace and after two hours he came back to the wise man. “Well” said the wise man “did you see any of the Persian tapestries hanging or the garden that took ten years to make? Did you notice the beautiful parchment in my library?” The boy was embarrassed and confused because his only concern was to keep the oil in the spoon. Then the wise man said “do this again and come back in another two hours”. This time the boy saw the art on the ceiling, the beautiful garden, and the mountains that sounded the palace, and tasted the assortment of food. After the two hours he related in detail to the wise man what he saw. The wise man then asked “but where is the oil I entrusted you with?” the boy looked down and saw there was no oil in the spoon. “Well there is only one piece of advice I can give you said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon”.

The wise man was telling the boy that the secret to happiness is pursuing what you love whole heartedly, but never forgetting the daily tasks that must be done. Now this is the truly conflicting