is evaluated by grades and the other by pass/fail.
So to simplify, I propose that we choose a pass/fail system where we take happiness as an absolute value. It is either there or it is not there.
And if we go back to the banal statement that the most important guideline of a human being is to be happy, it turns out that we will be happy in any case. And no matter what kind of life a person lives, at the end of his path he will still be happy. And all cases when a person says that he is unhappy, he only expresses the current state of his affairs. It is even something like a mood: now you feel a good mood and it seems to you that you are happy, but if something suddenly goes wrong according to your plan, then the mood will change sharply to bad, and with it the assessment of your happiness.
Based on this, happiness can be categorized as a mood marker. And it turns out that it is only one possible mood score. And if we chase “good mood”, we will become children who only want to play and eat various sweets.
Therefore, I suggest not to identify happiness with mood and, taking into account all of the above, recognize that you will eventually become happy, whether you want it or not. Since it is inevitable, I suggest that you do not delay in recognizing this fact and admit to yourself right now that you are a happy person! And you have been a happy person since the moment you were born into this world. From now on, live with this thought. And when someone tells you that he is unhappy, you will realize that in fact the person just wants to say that things are not good for him at the moment. And vice versa, when a person falls in love or wins the lottery, it is as if he shines with happiness and firmly knows that right now he is a happy person, because things are going much better for him.
And this is where we get to the specifics. Namely, our own assessment of our current state of affairs. After all, this is what is really important for us. Because our perception of life depends on this assessment. If things are going well with us, then life seems to be beautiful to us. It is as if the universe hears us, and fate favors us. But if our affairs go wrong, as we wanted, we immediately begin to think that we are unhappy and everyone around us only hinder us or try to put a stick in our wheels. And we can start blaming our problems on close people, competitors, politicians and circumstances in general, talking about the black streak of bad luck in our life and so on.
Few people can admit that things are going badly for them only because they themselves initially chose the wrong path. And the problems that have arisen are only a consequence of the first mistake of choice.
That is, when initially planning his affairs, a person made mistakes in his calculations or he did not think about possible problems. Perhaps he chose a goal that did not correspond to his principles, or he was driven by self-interest or envy, even worse, if it was revenge or resentment, and so on.
And these are seemingly incongruous things, but they play a huge role in everything we do. Our motives and beliefs, our intentions that we position through our actions and behaviors. All of these are the binding cement for our future endeavors. And before we start a new endeavor, we need to be sure to test how good our cement is. And for this purpose we will have to ask ourselves questions again and check with our goal and our destiny according to the received answers. After all, there must be meaning in our actions, right? Isn’t there?
“Of course!” – you will answer. After all, you and I are at least serious, adult people who have taken responsibility for our lives into our own hands. And we understand perfectly well that in this life you have to work to survive. And sometimes there are difficult moments, but we pass them with our heads held high.
And based on all of the above, it can be summarized that we all work hard and overcome something all the time, while achieving certain material benefits and social status.
And this is clear to everyone, but as I said above, most people don’t understand why they live and what they would do if they had a lot of money.
I think this is only because they don’t ask themselves these questions.
But if you start asking them, you can come to a mixed conclusion.
Some will say that they live for the sake of their relatives and loved ones, and for them it will even be the meaning of life. For someone it will be service to God. Someone will choose the meaning of achieving a certain dream. And of course, there will be people who will say that they live to enjoy themselves.
Of course, this is only a set of the most banal and simple reasoning, and in fact there are many more. But what they all have in common is that all their conclusions were made on the basis of their knowledge of the world and their place in it. To put it another way, on their understanding of who they are in this life.
It follows that a person’s level of knowledge and beliefs determine their response. If we imagine for a moment that we all have the same knowledge and beliefs, it follows that our answers would also be the same. But I dare assure you that this is not true, it is sophism1. Because this example does not take into account people’s living conditions. And we have different conditions. And our conditions will dictate to us the rules of behavior and create our worldview.
A thief will reason from the position of a thief, a policeman from the position of his duties, and as long as there is poverty, and the very concept of money, we will all be divided in our opinions about what is important for us and what is not. And everyone will be happy, but in his own way. And everyone will regret and cry in life, but about something different.
So what is the meaning of life?
This question may arise in every person when he tries to understand the reasons for his existence.
And as a rule, the first thing that comes to mind is what he read somewhere, heard or saw on TV or the Internet. And most likely, this answer will suit him, but will not make him happier.
And if you think about it, why is there no unambiguous answer to this question, which would suit everyone and everyone would accept it as the absolute truth?
Well, let’s try to reason with you, if we approached this question from the point of view of logic, so that we would have succeeded.
So, what is the meaning of life?
In order to start our reasoning somewhere, I propose to draw our attention to something simple and understandable for us, but at the same time that would answer our question.
For example, let us ask a more understandable question: what is the meaning of an ant’s life?
I think the meaning of the ant’s life is to ensure a stable future for its colony. And that’s why he works hard. And they have no slackers. Everyone is busy doing their own thing. They have soldier ants, guard ants, worker ants and so on. They are all busy doing their own thing, but at the same time all their duties and their labor serve the same purpose – the survival of the colony.
And now let us speculate, what is the meaning of animal life?
I think that they have the same program as ants – survival and continuation of the species. They get food, reproduce and protect their territory.
Let’s think further.
What is the meaning of life in plants?
I think that plants, as well as animals, have one global task – survival. Through feeding and reproduction.
And it will be the same for fish and birds. So we can conclude that all creatures of nature have the same meaning of life – survival and continuation of the species.
And now let’s think, what is the meaning of life of primitive man?
I think, the same as all others – survival. Through food and the continuation of the species.
But there is one “BUT” that immediately caught my eye: “The survival of man is possible only at the cost of the lives of all others”. If the flora and fauna that exist on our earth did not exist, man would