The Secret to Happiness

What is the secret to happiness?  In the adult education Spanish class I am taking, we are reading the book, El Alquimista (The Alchemist) by Paulo Coelho.  The book touts itself as a fable about following your dreams.

Within this fable is a parable about a merchant sending his son off to consult the wisest of wise men on the secret to happiness.  After a long and arduous journey the young man arrives at the abode of the Wiseman.  He is sent off for two hours to tour the magnificent structure, but with a teaspoon of oil in his hand and an admonition to not spill the oil.  The young man returns to the Wiseman who asks him what he had seen. Since he had been concentrating on not spilling the oil, the young man missed all the marvels of the Wiseman’s castle.  The Wiseman then sent him off on a second tour with strict instructions on enjoying the various treasures of art and nature through out.  When the young man returned he relayed excitedly to the Wiseman all that he had seen.  The Wiseman then asked him where the oil was.  It had all spilled from the spoon as the young man marveled at the treasures during his second tour.

The moral of the parable is to enjoy the grandeur of things in life while not forgetting the mundane.

This, of course, began me ruminating on what I thought the secret to happiness was.  The Wiseman’s conclusion seems to translate to flying at 50,000 feet.  Enjoy the view, but do not forget to watch your dials and gauges.  It sounds like wise advice, but a secret to happiness.  Perhaps.

I think the Buddha had it right when he spoke of the need to be chopping wood when you are chopping wood.  We need to live in the moment.  We spend so much of our time stewing about the past or fretting about the future that we forget the here and now.  Living in the moment may not always bring happiness, but it helps to avoid suffering.  Some of the most serene, alive moments I have had in this life are when I am just “am”.  I’m not worried about what was.  I have no concerns over what will be.  Whatever it is that I am doing at the moment is so right and so enjoyable.  Occasionally it is transcendent.   If that is not happiness I do not know what it is.  I do know that you cannot search for it.  It always finds you, you do not find it.

I then thought perhaps acceptance is another secret to happiness.  I think a good argument could be made that acceptance is a form of living in the moment.  You are not concerned why a person or situation is the way it is.  It is just is.  You are not concerned with changing a person or situation.  It is as it is.  That is acceptance. That is being in the moment.  Different words, same place.

Taoism and Buddhism share some common themes, one being about living in the moment.  Taoism, in my readings, seems to have the principle of blissful ignorance.  If you try to reason or know too much about things it takes you out of the moment.  Knowledge in itself can bring unhappiness.  While I understand why you might draw that conclusion, my personal value system has a hard time with it.  To me a large part of life is the exploration of it, both the physical world and the world of ideas.  To avoid this, is to miss out on joy.  Admittedly it can have the opposite effect also.  I have never really come to a strong conclusion as to how the scales balance.  I do know that for me, personally, I must explore.

My reading of Buddhism is to lead an examined and ethical life.  I like that idea, and I try very hard to do that.  I am not sure that I do not fail more than I succeed, but it is a journey.  It is an exploration.   Exploration and examination are in some ways activities that dwell in the future and in the past.  Perhaps, though during the actual act you are in the here and now.  Perhaps.

One of my aversions to Christianity and Islam is their concentration on the afterlife.  I know believers will say differently, but is only faith that this is a reality.  Many believers become so focused on the afterlife that they forget the here and now.  They are focused on that future time when all will be better.   On the flip side it does seem to bring many of them happiness to forget the woes of this world, and believe that when they die all will be wonderful. Is that the secret to happiness? Perhaps.

If there is a secret to happiness, it may be different for each of us. Perhaps it is the same.  For me at this point I am going to concentrate on living in the here and now.  My goal is to live each moment, before I live the next moment while not worrying about the moment that just was.

Perhaps.