Cheap Thrills
...ingly contradictory. If we finally attain world peace, there will be no more devastation and pain. Does this mean that we are condemning mankind to unhappiness because he will never suffer? The world can be peaceful and happy without having to suffer first. Happiness and pain do not go hand in hand, one can be happy and never experience pain. Consider all the Jews who were victims of concentration camps, soldiers in World War I who had to slaughter and watch their comrades suffer horrible deaths, and anyone who had to endure such mental torture. If we look at them today, are they happier people than those who have never experienced that mental torture? Now, imagine a family who lives on a secluded island who have never heard of war or endured any real hardships. Day after day, they play together, hunt their own food and tell stories at night. We must question which of these scenarios results in a happier existence. We do not need to suffer to appreciate life and be content. Cheap happiness is a naively blissful experience of life, you don’t know anything better and you don’t know anything worse. The cycle of life provides an interesting example of this notion. Perhaps every person at one point or another longs to return to their childhood years, those unique years of innocence and blissfulness. Why do they desire their youth? We are probably the most happiest we will ever be in our entire lives as children. Young children are not tainted by the poisons of the world and have not endured suffering or spiritual pain; they are simply happy beings, unaware of anything better or worse. They are naïve, but it is this naiveté that makes them most precious because of their optimistic view on whatever they can understand. The same theory can be applied to a puppy, a kitten, or any good-natured animal. Do we not envy their blissful ignorance and simplistic being? Imagine how simple life would be if people were as ignorant yet as peaceful and happy as a small child or an animal. Yet we must ask ourselves if such a state of being is possible for the average person; can we choose our existence? The answer is no for the moment a child begins interacting with the world outside the confinement of its home, it loses some of that innocence and blissful naiveté. The influence of society is strong and touches all who are part of it. It is impossible to live life in a glass bubble and the suffering that comes with maturity in this lifetime is ultimately inevitable. Despite this, we must remember that although suffe...