What Is Happiness

What is the relationship between happiness and individuality? First, define 'happiness' and 'individuality.' Then, describe how a reading of Huxley's "Brave New World" affects your thinking on the relationship between happiness and individuality. (Be sure to give some specific examples from Huxley's book to support your position.) How do you think both Socrates and Thoreau would react to Huxley's so-called 'utopia'? Again, give examples to support your position."

Happiness is and can be many different things, to many different people, during many different times of their lives.

There have been many quotes made in the past by many famous people defining their concept of what happiness is for example: "If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal. Not to people or things," by Albert Einstein; "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder..." Thoreau.

Thoreau in his comment seems to be saying that happiness is elusive, if we try to find happiness it runs away, yet if we just sit back and wait patiently, it will find us. Einstein in his comment seems to tie happiness to goals in life. If one wants to be happy one needs to have certain things planned to attain happiness. These two statements seem to contradict each other. Thoreau says wait and happiness will find you, yet Einstein wants to tie happiness to concrete things.

Yet again, have we really defined what happiness is? Can happiness even be tied down to a definition or is it still going to be elusive like Thoreau's butterfly.

Happiness in my opinion can not be confined to any one specific feeling or definition just by the nature of the word "Happiness". Happiness is elusive, she is mystical, and she always seems to be just out of reach, like a leaf floating on the wind.

So let us look at this from another perspective. To me the best way to define what happiness is, is to look at oneself, to examine your life, your soul, your surroundings and see if you are happy with what you have or don't have.

To be truly happy you need to feel that you are making your best efforts, no matter what your efforts are in. The feeling of achievement when you accomplish a difficult task is a natural high.

Even with the feelings of being successful, ephemeral though they are, without a positive mental outlook, I don't think you can recognize or appreciate happiness. Happiness doesn't run up and down the street yelling "stop and pay attention I'm happiness". It sneaks up on you in the quiet moments that Huxley's "Brave New World" would have denied you.

Can anything equal sitting on your porch watching the sun come up with a good cup of coffee? Or watching the deer on your lawn? Or taking a walk with your beloved just because? Or giggling with your best friend of 40 some years while watching cute college guys and ranking them on a scale of 1-10. Much harder these days since they all dress so badly. A guy or girl dressed up and looking good just carry themselves differently and give off a totally different vibe - it's a real pleasure to watch. But I have digressed here.

Happiness changes across time I think. What makes us happy as small children is going to be different as an adult. Your particular life events are going to make for individual choices, but that is what makes the world interesting. According to the reading in our assigned texts, plus other reading and personal observation over the years, I think you need to have been unhappy at some point to really appreciate happiness when you have it. I know people may disagree with me on this, but I think in some way happiness is more piercing, has a sharper edge if you will, is appreciated more, when you truly realize that it is ephemeral. The other wonderful thing about happiness, it may be a fleeting moment or several hours and then gone, but once you have formed the "happiness habit" it can and does reoccur. For you have finally recognized the face that happiness wears and she is no longer elusive to you, she has become a friend and knows that she is welcome to stop by anytime.

Individuality is what makes people different; it is what makes people interesting. If people have no individuality then they become boring or stagnate. If you take away peoples individuality you take away a piece of their soul, that essence that makes them, them.

Being free to choose what you want to wear, live, work, pray or even die is a choice that makes a person an individual. Being allowed to express your individuality gives a person a true chance at happiness. Without the ability to be an individual one really does not have much chance at attaining any type of happiness. To me, the two go hand in hand.

In Huxley's