Brother, you have written from my heart. The view from the mountaintop never ceases to amaze. The truth will make you free but it will not make you happy.
Brother, you have written from my heart. The view from the mountaintop never ceases to amaze. The truth will make you free but it will not make you happy.
Your statement implies that happiness is impossible, which is itself an untruth. There is no way to rationally pursue happiness except by seeking and acknowledging the truth. One doesn't become successful or happy by, for example, evading all the actual requirements of building a relationship or a business. Acting on the basis of facts--the truth--is the only thing that can make one happy.
David - Respectfully, I must disagree. As far as I know, the 5 requirements for happiness are gratitude, love, friendship, interests and faith, a handy checklist to discover the cause of unhappiness in one's own life.
I agree that the accrual of knowledge is most satisfying insofar as it chases away
confusion and ignorance and invites wisdom. But Ernie is also right. Why else call it 'the awful truth'?
Happiness is a process, not a state. Once realized, it doesn't even have to end.
The truth is always here and now as absolute. Tomorrow, it might be a bit different, when it comes to decisions, but the basis for the truth is always the same.
Brother, you have written from my heart. The view from the mountaintop never ceases to amaze. The truth will make you free but it will not make you happy.
"The truth will make you free but it will not make you happy."
Perfectly stated.
Ernie - You have written a hard but necessary lesson for the climb - knowledge leads to sorrow. We will find our happiness in other ways. Thank you
Your statement implies that happiness is impossible, which is itself an untruth. There is no way to rationally pursue happiness except by seeking and acknowledging the truth. One doesn't become successful or happy by, for example, evading all the actual requirements of building a relationship or a business. Acting on the basis of facts--the truth--is the only thing that can make one happy.
David - Respectfully, I must disagree. As far as I know, the 5 requirements for happiness are gratitude, love, friendship, interests and faith, a handy checklist to discover the cause of unhappiness in one's own life.
I agree that the accrual of knowledge is most satisfying insofar as it chases away
confusion and ignorance and invites wisdom. But Ernie is also right. Why else call it 'the awful truth'?
I kinda' like Fielding's definition of love: it's esteem and gratitude.
Humans do more than enough to themselves to cause unhappiness, but most of the time, it's boredom.
Happiness is a process, not a state. Once realized, it doesn't even have to end.
The truth is always here and now as absolute. Tomorrow, it might be a bit different, when it comes to decisions, but the basis for the truth is always the same.
There is only one truth.
If that doesn't make us happy, what else would? Ignorance, indifference, or pure evil?
What is "happy," after all?