Happiness and Meaning

The Greek philosopher Epicurus proposed that the best life is one of pleasure – a life with little bodily, mental and emotional pain is most desirable. He said that this is the happy life.

Aristotle, on the other hand, proposed that happiness does not come from pleasure or a lack of pain; but rather, happiness is a by-product of one’s actions.

One becomes happy when they understand and live up to their potential by actively seeking to develop their best traits, and by doing good, contributing to society, and by serving others.

The word Aristotle used to describe this kind of life is best translated into English as “flourishing”, which includes how one thinks, as well as what one does.

Maybe we can’t become happy by reading about it, by listening to self-help speeches or by having more stuff. Maybe happiness is more about what a person does than what they have.

America is Experiencing a Happiness Explosion

Although Americans are only 4.3% of the world’s population, they consume 80% of the world’s opioids, incarcerate over 25% of the worlds prison population, and harbor over one thousand active hate groups.

Happiness is a hot topic

especially in the book business

Paradoxically, despite all the self-help books, the abundance of material wealth, and flashy new smartphones we possess, most Americans are unhappy. ​

Interest in happiness, as measured by Google searches, has tripled in the last few years.

A recent search of the word “happiness” delivered 946 million results.

In 2000, the number of books published on happiness was a modest fifty. By 2017, that number had sky-rocked to 23,000.

One of the misunderstood attributes of happiness though, is its fleeting nature. ​​A person can be happy one moment, and because of changing circumstances, become unhappy the next.

​Many Americans believe that happiness comes from their possessions – the more stuff they have, the better. ​​And most aren’t afraid to work hard to get the stuff they believe will make them happy. The average American works almost 47 hours a week, hoping to buy their happiness, one item at a time. ​

Happiness is a word used to explain someone’s mental or emotional state – how someone feels. ​​

When someone is experiencing positive and pleasant emotions, they say they are happy.

“The shortcut to anything you want in your life,” writes author Rhonda Byrne in her best-selling book The Secret, “is to BE and FEEL happy… now!”

So, if happiness is your goal, maybe the best solution is to stop pursuing it.

Instead, find someone who needs a listening ear, or some help on a project. Give some time to a good cause, write in a journal, or take a walk in the woods and enjoy the quiet serenity that is only found in nature.

Do the things that create meaning and see how happy you become.

People hope by reading self-help books or taking pain pills, that their problems will evaporate, and they will find the happiness they so desire.

Happiness and Meaning

A busy, young woman was tasked with the inconvenience of taking care of her ailing mother. ​​For more than three years, she went to work in the mornings, and spent many of her afternoons and evenings dispensing medicine, listening to the same stories, attending to doctor visits, keeping meticulous notes, cleaning her mother’s home and cooking her food.

Following her mother’s passing, she explained that while the previous few years had been, in some ways, the most challenging in her life, they too, had been some of the most meaningful.

Was she happy? Not so much. A lot of the time, it was just hard work. Perhaps a better question is, was she fulfilled?

The young woman said no matter how difficult and time-consuming it might have been, she was able to give back, to serve her mother. She felt it was one of the most important things she had ever done.

Are more likely to set and achieve goals

Are healthier, and they live longer

Have higher self-worth and greater self-confidence

Have superior relationship building skills

Are more resilient

Are less anxious

Have a greater sense of purpose

And are more content - regardless of their circumstances

A multitude of scientific studies show that people who have meaning in their lives:

With the Self:

Life becomes meaningful when we become aware of our inner value, our ability to choose, and our capacity to grow.

Life becomes more meaningful when we use our time, energy and attention to care for, and to serve other people, and when we actively participate in worthy causes.

In Relationships with Others:

At Ampelis, we propose that flourishing happens when one’s life has meaning.

And meaning, we believe, is a result of what one thinks, what one does, and what one experiences, and is manifest when we use our time, energy and attention in three ways:

In Experiences with the Divine:

Meaning expands when we experience and share profound and transcendent encounters that inspire, enlighten, increase our awareness, and connect us to something greater than ourselves.

We believe that meaning can be developed and cultivated by anyone, regardless of their background or present circumstances.

And… we beieve that living a meaningful life is a choice.

Expanding one’s awareness

Connecting and serving

Self-discovery

Meaningful living then, is about:

Ampelis Video

One might ask,

“So what? What does meaningful living do for me?”

In fact, people whose lives are most meaningful, tend to have more difficulties and challenges. Because they are less “me” focused, and more “others” focused, they spend much of their time, energy and attention serving, helping and supporting those around them and contributing to worthy causes.

Living a meaningful life doesn’t particularly mean an easier life.

There is a puzzling inverse equation that accompanies meaningful living.

People who give of their time, energy and attention to others, tend to have more of those very things to give, and to use.