Is the Pursuit of Happiness the Right Path?
The human being is nothing more than an animal clinging to life. Every material item is arbitrary. If everything was suddenly taken away from us, the only thought on our minds would be where is food and where is shelter. With that in mind, why must people be miserable in the world of instant gratification? Well this question answers itself. Instant gratification gives short term pleasure while actual challenging work gives the real gratification. As Jess Elstrom reiterates constantly in her novel, Chasing the Bright Side, everyone has the choice to pursue optimism. Well, optimism isn’t exactly chasing happiness, but rather looking on the bright side of every situation. But with that said, are humans supposed to be happy, or are we meant to be miserable? If we look at other life forms on Earth, they are all miserable working their way through life. So are humans special or do we follow the same path as our fellow residents of Earth do as well and live in misery?
In scientific terms, happiness is nothing but a chemical reaction in the brain that encourages a certain behavior. Since humans are gifted with consciousness, we have forever been trying to figure out the meaning of life. Elstrom says the meaning of life is, “Finding your meaning in the world and acting on it”(76). But that sounds like a momentous task to anyone. How is anyone to know their meaning in the world? There is no set guide telling us what exactly we are here to do, we are just here. So we must follow our heart and trust it. This is where we fall into the problem of pursuing happiness. Now why happiness? There are a lot of other emotions but happiness feels the best. One could choose to live their life as miserably as possible but that would be no fun, yet many end up on this path anyways. Now Elstrom also says to “always look on the bright side of things, and everything will turn out semi-fine”(79). This way of thinking really got me thinking she’s right. When one always sees the light in the storm, nothing will ever be able to hold one down. They will never get bogged down by anything as long as there’s a silver lining. Perhaps life does have some meaning knowing there’s always a good in the world.
From a different approach, one could say it does not matter if one looks at the bright side or not, everything is meaningless. In one thousand years no one will remember anything happening right now so why work towards anything? Why not just sit back and play video games all day? Well Elstrom destroys this argument with the line “Would you want to live miserably or live happily, the choice is yours”(125). Now since we can not live forever we must live life to the fullest, which is hard some days. If one lives too fast, life flashes. If life is boring, it drags and has not been lived to the fullest. There’s an ancient Japanese saying that states that we all must live with balance. Not too much of anything, but moderate amounts of everything. This is where I found happiness, and I’m sure it will work for everyone.
With life split between logic and emotion, our path is not clear. There is no given statement on how to live properly other than by living to eat, which is less about living and more about surviving. From the logical standpoint, life is about surviving as long as possible and keeping the species afloat. The emotional side of the brain tells users a variety of different things, but the general idea behind life is to live happily as long as possible. An insane predicament but the author Jess Elstrom says it is an able feat. When it is virtually impossible to live without sad points, these periods could be sweetened with the power of optimism. Optimism creates hope for people, and in a society of conscious beings, we need all the hope we can get.
The human being is nothing more than an animal clinging to life. Every material item is arbitrary. If everything was suddenly taken away from us, the only thought on our minds would be where is food and where is shelter. With that in mind, why must people be miserable in the world of instant gratification? Well this question answers itself. Instant gratification gives short term pleasure while actual challenging work gives the real gratification. As Jess Elstrom reiterates constantly in her novel, Chasing the Bright Side, everyone has the choice to pursue optimism. Well, optimism isn’t exactly chasing happiness, but rather looking on the bright side of every situation. But with that said, are humans supposed to be happy, or are we meant to be miserable? If we look at other life forms on Earth, they are all miserable working their way through life. So are humans special or do we follow the same path as our fellow residents of Earth do as well and live in misery?
In scientific terms, happiness is nothing but a chemical reaction in the brain that encourages a certain behavior. Since humans are gifted with consciousness, we have forever been trying to figure out the meaning of life. Elstrom says the meaning of life is, “Finding your meaning in the world and acting on it”(76). But that sounds like a momentous task to anyone. How is anyone to know their meaning in the world? There is no set guide telling us what exactly we are here to do, we are just here. So we must follow our heart and trust it. This is where we fall into the problem of pursuing happiness. Now why happiness? There are a lot of other emotions but happiness feels the best. One could choose to live their life as miserably as possible but that would be no fun, yet many end up on this path anyways. Now Elstrom also says to “always look on the bright side of things, and everything will turn out semi-fine”(79). This way of thinking really got me thinking she’s right. When one always sees the light in the storm, nothing will ever be able to hold one down. They will never get bogged down by anything as long as there’s a silver lining. Perhaps life does have some meaning knowing there’s always a good in the world.
From a different approach, one could say it does not matter if one looks at the bright side or not, everything is meaningless. In one thousand years no one will remember anything happening right now so why work towards anything? Why not just sit back and play video games all day? Well Elstrom destroys this argument with the line “Would you want to live miserably or live happily, the choice is yours”(125). Now since we can not live forever we must live life to the fullest, which is hard some days. If one lives too fast, life flashes. If life is boring, it drags and has not been lived to the fullest. There’s an ancient Japanese saying that states that we all must live with balance. Not too much of anything, but moderate amounts of everything. This is where I found happiness, and I’m sure it will work for everyone.
With life split between logic and emotion, our path is not clear. There is no given statement on how to live properly other than by living to eat, which is less about living and more about surviving. From the logical standpoint, life is about surviving as long as possible and keeping the species afloat. The emotional side of the brain tells users a variety of different things, but the general idea behind life is to live happily as long as possible. An insane predicament but the author Jess Elstrom says it is an able feat. When it is virtually impossible to live without sad points, these periods could be sweetened with the power of optimism. Optimism creates hope for people, and in a society of conscious beings, we need all the hope we can get.
EXPERIENCE / SKILLS
Web Design + Web Development + Product Design + Marketing
Web Design + Web Development + Product Design + Marketing
AWARDS / RECOGNITION
YOTD 2016
Best Website Design - Awwwards
HOW - Marketing Honorable Mention
YOTD 2016
Best Website Design - Awwwards
HOW - Marketing Honorable Mention