1 of 38

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

and perfect wedding days ( leading of course to happy marriagesor at least the half of them that survive, often in a state of quiet desperation).

Where did this harpy of happiness spring from? I believe there is a hole of want in the psyche of every man and woman that connects us with our ancient forebears, who wandered the plains and forests, naked and apprehensive, the most defenseless creatures on earth at the time, with nothing but a seminal brain stem to keep them erect and alive. Everywhere there were teeth and claws, hunger and cold. Early man was the only life form that could foresee hunger even after a good feeding; he/she was aware from personal experience, that going too long without warmth and shelter would lead to disease and death. There daily existence was a fell game of evolutionary catch-up. It is natural that the primal heart should seek solace by envisioning, even worshipping, a place where everything was safe, and thus began the evanescent concept of a state of happiness. As time passed and the game of civilization became more complex, man began to value himself as a creature of some esteem, quite apart from the food chain. In his vanity, and a need to be something more than a temporal presence, he set unrealistic benchmarks of worth and rights, among them the idea that he deserved to be "happy", whatever his or her definition of transitory happiness may be the conquering of territory, the conversion of heathen masses, the acquisition, at any cost, of fabulous wealth. Many lives, races, cultures and religions have foundered on the rocks of that misconception.

Although I am a Deist, I am not a believer in divine cosmic finger pointing. We are not the objects of focus for an otherwise very bored being. There can be some peace in the thought that we are, after all, inconsequential. We are, in fact, the worst beings on the planet, depleting it and abusing it as we do. Our experience of reality, our finite knowledge of the universe and its laws must be a great dinner table joke for higher life forms. All that we are and believe we are, in the telescoping vastness of space and time, might just be contained within a shivering drop of water, dangling from a titanic faucet; a billion years of evolution reduced to nano-seconds, followed by the fall to the sink and complete annihilation.

I confess that, although I am still a very primitive, very Catholic - programmed and superstitious person, that there is comfort in this idea for me. It takes the pressure off, lifts the special status that smothers us like a gifted child and allows a certain freedom of being. This is not, and is very far from, the goal oriented, Christian ethic model of happiness. but it can, with some thought, offer a path to peace.

Learn more about this author, Doug Stowe.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about The myth of a 'secret' to happiness?
We want to hear your view. Write now!