The general understanding is that happiness is attainable, something solid and concrete. This is packed and sold as truth within our culture and society, not just in our society but worldwide.
This type of thinking arises from pumping millions into the marketing of philosophical ideas, using mediums such as film and literature. This can create a social construct where this idea lives to be true.
But how true is this claim? It’s based on the philosophical idea of hedonism. What is hedonism? It’s the idea that the purpose of life is to increase pleasure and decrease pain, and that’s it. It’s more of a secular idea that became popular in the 18th to 19th century.
But what does this mean in a practical sense? It means that to feel good or happy, we must increase our bodily pleasures. The problem is nothing ever feels good for a long time; some can even argue that what you like today, you may hate tomorrow.
There is also the problem of addiction arising from this type of thinking, which can have a detrimental effect not only on a personal level but also on a community level.
Be mindful of what you think or do, for you may become a prisoner of what you enjoy. Your pleasure will lead to your pain. To become a prisoner of your own self is a painful experience. When you want to stop but your behaviors have become so ingrained that no matter what you try, you just can’t control yourself.
I think there is a solution, and it comes down to how we think about happiness and what happiness actually means. As the scholars say, the point of life is to be content with what your Lord has given you, because life has nothing to do with being happy. I would agree with this. I would say chasing happiness is like chasing something that you will never have because, in reality, it’s not attainable. Our emotions come and go; it’s not solid, just momentary pleasure.
I would argue that happiness is not subjective, though it’s heavily marketed in that manner. One cannot consume poison and be okay with it. I think it’s complex, and if one wishes they can go down a deep rabbit hole. I think it’s more to do with business and industry as a whole. As we were growing up, we were always told we need such and such a product to be happy. But maybe we can talk about that another day…
