Happiness

The source of happiness lies within. When our minds are at ease, when our outlook
is positive, yet also realistic, when our thoughts are turned with kindness toward
others, we experience a happiness that supports us with strength and courage no
matter what difficulties we face.
The question about happiness is essential in the emergence of ethics in ancient
Greece.
In classical Greek philosophy there are three positions:

Being happy is self-realizing, achieving the goals of a human being
(eudemonism), a position defended by Aristotle.

To be happy is to be self-sufficient, to fend for yourself without depending on
anything or anyone (cynicism and stoicism).

To be happy is to experience intellectual and physical pleasure and to avoid
mental and physical suffering (hedonism). It is the position defended by
Epicurus.

In oriental philosophy, happiness is conceived as a quality product of a state of

internal harmony that manifests itself as a feeling of well-being that lasts over time
and not as a state of mind of passing origin, as it is generally defined in the West.
Lao Tzu maintained that the reason for his happiness was to live in the present.
Those who always think about tomorrow or remember nostalgia yesterday only
generate anxiety, stress, and stop enjoying the moment and the real existence.

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of

life, the end of human existence. Happiness has nothing to
Aristotle do with wealth and social
condition, but it is a
matter of harmony.

Lao Tse

By Erick Méndez Guzmán