Pursuit of Happiness

The hunt of Happiness In the book, You Learn by Living, Eleanor Roosevelt notes Happiness is not a goal it is a byproduct(Roosevelt 95). When ones specific desire is fulfilled, feelings of felicity flourish. Therefore, enjoyment is the ultimate goal in life sentence for many people in todays society because their life revolves around desire. That said, everyones variation of rejoicing varies. Some may believe wealth and mightiness pull up stakes bring them blessedness, while others king argue that beauty and popularity allow for keep them happy.Whatever the recipe of happiness may be, the product is universalthey either generate feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Temporary pleasure and satisfaction, that is. What if the word eternal was inserted into the definition of happiness to say that it was a state of eternal well- existence and contentment? How would one sought to pursue this form of happiness? At the start of Book One of The Consolation of doctrine, Ancius Boe thius, a learned official of the Roman Empire who awaits executing for unjust accusations, desolately rests in his jail cell, writing poetry and contemplating on life with the Muses of Poetry.He is soon disrupt by philosophy, who appears to him in the form of a lovely woman that is full of years, yet possesses a smart color and undiminished vigor (Boethius 2). As a physician treating a patient would, Lady doctrine diagnoses Boethius with a serious illness, which she says she is here to cure, unlike the Muses she c totallys hysterical sluts(Boethius 2) who is precisely here to take Reason out from him. When asked to discover his wounds, Boethius begins to moan about the loss of vertical fortune his wealth, his power, his friends, and even contact with his family.He goes on to find fault that he is suffering unjustly in a state of complete innocence, blaming Fortune for taking onward these goods. As for Lady philosophy, whether or not Boethius is a victim of Fortune (Boethi us 4), as he calls himself, is merely not important. The fact that Boethius has fallen under Fortunes spell, and forgotten three important things his authorized nature, the end and mathematical function of things, and the means by which the world is governed (Boethius, 10), seem to be the bigger issue since they be the main causes of his illness.Throughout all five books of The Consolations of Philosophy, in her intent to cure Boethius disease, Lady Philosophy corrects Boethius of the errors that caused his illnessthe main error being his misc erstption of how happiness can be achieved. When told of Boethius sudden reversal of fortune, rather than feeling pity and empathy, Lady Philosophy scolds Boethius for mourning over tangible and earthly things like fame, wealth, and power. These goods, or rather infatuated goods can stag to bring happiness, but it fails to cope with the true, eternal soul.Wealth and power were merely gifts from Fortune that temporarily visited him by t he wheel around of Fortune. Moreover, Lady Philosophy is able to prove that they are in fact false goods because they were taken away from Boethius they did not belong to Boethius. Lady Philosophy tells Boethius, Be not overcome by your misfortunes, for the gifts of fortune are fleeting and happiness is not to be found in temporal goods(Boethius 21). The things that are thought to lease us happy, wealth, honor, and power, have no actual value or power and then cannot truly see someone a happy person.Lady Philosophy further explains how these false goods wholly evoke feelings of negativity. Wealth solely leads oneself to greed and further protection of himself, honor creates jealousy, and power is meaningless because it does not last. Lady Philosophy explains Why, the prefecture, which was once a great power, is now but an empty name(Boethius 23). These lesser goods, which hold less power than mankind, cannot drive one to live a happy life only a greater good that is more power ful than man possesses that power. This leads to the next question How is true happiness achieved?In Book 2 of The Consolation of Philosophy, Lady Philosophy thoroughly explains true happiness If I ask you whether there is anything more precious to you than your own self, you will say no. So if you are in possession of yourself you will possess something you would never wish to lose and something Fortune could never take away(Boethius 23). She says that happiness cant lie down in things governed by chance because true happiness cannot be taken away. She goes on to explain that postcode on earth can bring true happinessnot one that is eternal.The common imprint of all mankind agrees that deity, the supreme of the Heavens and the Earth is the highest good. True happiness comes from the desire for the stark(a) itself and the perfect GoodGod. Therefore, one can only walk out true happiness through the pursuit of God through intellectual and spiritual means. On page 23 of Book Thre e, Lady Philosophy says hardly by being like God, who is the highest good, can lasting happiness come to man. Everyone desires happiness, and happiness is identical with the good, therefore God and true happiness is of neness. She also says that the good gain their reward automatically, since by being good, they attain the good, which is happiness. Furthermore, only our spirit and intellect can lead us to the true goodthe true happiness of the soul, God. As a strong believer, and child of God, it is only sensible that I agree with Lady Philosophy on her reasoning that only one higher power offers true happiness. The all-powerful Creator of serviceman motivates man to live a good, virtuous life under Him, which, according to Lady Philosophy defines true happiness.Seeking God, in many ways, is parallel to seeking true happiness. The bible, which quotes the words of God, in many cases, teaches the man in God to strive for the higher goods that make up true happiness and, to keep awa y from what are the evils of false happiness in not only religious terms, but also philosophical terms. In Psalms 374 of the New International Bible, it says Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. The desires that the bible verse refers to are not casual wants that nature longs for, but informalmost desires that satisfy the inner soulthe true goods.The bible disfavors certain desires, in which Lady Philosophy would consider false goods and the Bible refers to lusts. These desires are often described as cravings that long to satisfy physical appetite, like food, alcohol, sex, money, and pleasure. erstwhile man rids himself of desire, he begins to be carefree, letting the mind be emotionally free, free of worry, confident, and at inner peace, reaching a state of happiness under God. Lastly, God rules the universe for the highest good, so man working to move toward that good according to their own will to be obedient towards the highest good, God.As I have begun to dispute above, I strongly believe that living a life for a higher power, rather than oneself, creates an plausive state of mind, resulting in a more satisfied, happier person. Research shows that that religious people are happier and less stressed. erstwhile one understands that the world is not governed by Fortune, but by a reasonable Creator, unhappiness becomes transfer because he is agreeing to Divine Providence. Giving reason to everything that happens makes life less distressful.Rather than staying in a state of despair, only a person in God understands that suffering leads to the sanity of reason and therefore, with suffering, happiness will be awarded at the end. It can also be said that the person in God is not only happy, but also virtuous because being good consists of being virtuous. In relation to what Lady Philosophy defines as false happiness in The Consolation of Philosophy, someone who seems to have everything that most people desire, oft en times, suffers from severe depression. Marilyn Monroe is a great example.She had everything that many seem to think brings happinessbeauty, wealth, fame, sex appeal, and popularitybut she stop her life in suicide. It can be further argued that happiness consisting of anything other than the one God, cannot be everlasting. turn these so-called false goods temporally satisfies ones self, the one real true good, the Creator, provides consolation that is eternal. In comparison to lesser goods, faith is a consistent element of happiness and good health. In explaining happiness to Boethius, Lady Philosophy says, Why, then, O mortal men, do you seek that happiness outside, which lies within yourselves? True happiness cannot be found through the senses. Happiness comes from within ones soul. It is not external. It is a by-product of an inner condition. It is not simply a temporary indulgence of pleasure. If one lives only for personal happiness, he will probably never find it. As Amer ican social writer and philosopher, Eric Hoffer said, The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness. Getting rid of the longing for false goods, or evil desires, is the first abuse of achieving true happinessone that will last forever