Happiness is..
...requirement for true happiness. A misconception about happiness is that festivity and high living will make a person happy. A person that has lots of gala celebrations may be happy to a certain extent, but this does not guarantee that the person will experience true, life-long happiness. This kind of life may be pleasurable, but it can be very shallow, with no lasting significance. A person could be of great wealth and throw many fine parties, but this person may never make any friends or accomplish anything of consequence. Arthur Schopenhauer once said, "There is no more mistaken path to happiness than worldliness, revelry, highlife." Again, gaiety can help lead to happiness, but should not be used as the only method to achieve happiness. Another common misconception about happiness is that the world would be a wonderful place if no one ever felt any pain or sorrow. If you rid the world of all pain and sorrow, you will also take away happiness. If a person has never felt any pain, how can he appreciate the lack of pain? If a person was never saddened, how can he appreciate joy? People need to feel pain and sorrow so that they can enjoy their happiness when and if they attain it. This is an interesting point in that arguments can be given that pain is needed to feel true and complete happiness. The word happiness has many different meanings and connotations. Webster's dictionary defines happiness as a state of well-being and contentment. This definition is rather vague as it does not elaborate on what well-being and contentment involve, or how one can attain happiness, but it does agree with the previous poings made on what happiness is not. The definition does bring up a good point, though in saying that happiness is a state of well-being. To be happy one must be in a state of well-being, that is to be physically and mentally well. Physical health if fairly easy to define, a state of not being sick or infirm, mental health is a little more difficult because of the elusiveness of the subject. It seems a satisfactory definition of mental health is that to be mentally healthy one must feel comfortable about and must accept one's self. To be mentally healthy a person must also develop his intellect and talents to the fullest, not letting them stagnate or lie fallow. To do so would mean a person had not developed his fullest potential, had not realized his highest powers, and thus would not be as happy as he could have been. To be happy a person needs to be physically and mentally healthy, and to feel comfortable about himself. Granted, happiness means many different thigs to many different people, but I feel that a good definition of happiness is the one used by the ancient Greek philosophers such as Aristotle. The Greeks defined four basic components of happiness, the first being good fortune. A person who usually has many good things happen to him should certainly be very happy. The second component of happiness is ultimate joy or bliss. A person who experiences great joy will tend to become much happier. The third component is possession of coveted goods. If a person has all of the possessions he will ever need, and has enough money to live on, he will tend to have many fewer worries than if he was lacking in possessions. The final, and most definitive component, is general satisfaction with life. A person that is satisfied with himself and his life can truly be called happy. It is interesting to note that today's definition of happiness has changed but little since the early days of the Greeks. Good fortune is important to a happy life. A person that continually has bad luck will not tend to be very happy. A person with good fortune will also tend to do better in life, attaining more from life than other less favored people. Joyful experiences tend to make people happier. If a person experiences a joyful or blissful event he will usually come out of it feeling the better for it. Possession of many worldly goods can help make a person happy. If the person has lots of money, and is financially secure, then that person should not have to worry about how to support himself and his family. This will leave him more time to spend with his family or pursuing his interests and hobbies. The possession of many worldly goods also tends to bring about a higher social standing for the owner. Being respected and admired by one's peers tends to make one feel much happier. People that are rich tend to be admired by others around them, even to the point of some of these people being envious. Satisfaction with one's life is very central to true happiness. If you are not satisfied then you will feel restless until you quench the need you feel you are lacking in. By the very definition of the word, if you are satisfied, you are lacking nothing. A person who is lacking nothing can truly be called happy. Satisfaction with one's life also involves acceptance of one's self. For a person to be able to accept himself for what he is, he should develop himself to the fullest. One of the things Aristotle said about happiness was that for a person to attain true happiness he should achieve the highest potential he can, he should be the best he can be in all respects. If this person is an artist he need not be the best artist, or even a good artist, but he must be the best artist he can. Happiness is built upon the acceptance of one's self and abilities. Satisfaction is much more critical for happiness than good fortune is. Fortune does help to make a man happier, anyone who has something fortunate happen to him should feel good about it. However, even a person with bad luck can still laugh off his problems, maybe even making jokes about it. Having good fortune is very helpful to being happy, but is not critical. Moments of tremendous joy or bliss, for example winning a large sum of money, can mak...