"Happiness Depends Upon Ourselves.”
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” - Aristotle What is happiness? The word happiness in the Ethics is a translation of the Greek term eudaimonia, which carries connotations of success and fulfillment. For Aristotle, this” happiness” is our highest goal. But the real question is, how do we achieve this goal? Happiness well always depend upon ourselves. Every single soul on the face of this planet sees happiness differently. While one mind might think happiness is the accomplishment of finishing school and making their family proud another mind finds happiness through their family’s protection. One can never say that their view is better than the other. But achieving this goal will always depend on the person. As I stroll through the park gazing at my surroundings I witness a world where everyone seems happy. The children playing in the playground laughing and smiling as their parents watch their every move. I sit and ponder “What has happened to my happiness?” As a child I remember laughing and smiling like there was no tomorrow. As a child I saw happiness in everyone and everything around me. So I wonder, where has the smiling kid hidden? Is he hiding from the world he sees today? Is he hiding from the future he is so scared of? Or has he completely left this world? I continue with my stroll, coming across joyous face every time I take a step. I can’t help but feeling sad. A type of sadness that over shadows my very soul. A type of sadness that can devour the world’s happiness around me. A sadness that makes my heart dark and cold. I have reached my destination. A bench, an ordinary bench that too many means nothing but to me means the world. This bench today will change my life. For I do not know what it well bring me, but it will deliver something to my heart. As the sun sets, I wait and hope for something special. The once and happy world I saw begins to disappear before my very eyes. Darkness has swept through the joyous world I saw today and left