“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” – Carl Jung

At the apex of man’s happiness lies an indefinable void that looms in the recesses of his being. Even if he has already achieved what he wants in life, he can still feel the lingering pinprick of emptiness in his soul.

Why? Is it because he cannot contain the transcendent presence of happiness or the ontological nature of happiness cannot contain the gradational progression of his needs?

Some experts say that happiness is only a state in the mind.  If so, why can’t a man just create or recreate happiness in his consciousness? Why can’t he condition his mind to think of happiness in the midst of despair and sorrow?

Even if it is possible, the induced happiness in the human mind can only be a fleeting experience, because a man must wake up, occasionally, in order to face his blatant reality again.

And as the intensity of his needs and desires increases, the level of his pursuit for happiness also increases, and the more he acquires fame, power, or material wealth the ravenous he becomes in his quest for fulfillment and satisfaction.

What makes a man hunger for more? Is it within the material things that he craves or desires, or is it something beyond what the world can offer?

The Classical and Post Po-Mo Definition of Happiness

The etymological meaning of happiness is dated back to the Medieval English in the 14th century, which means “favored luck” or “good fortune.” In time, the concept of happiness has evolved into a more concrete definition, as an experience of pleasure and contentment that resonates with the human senses.

In our post post-modern society, the meaning of happiness, pejoratively speaking, has shifted its focus on the ‘created realities’ by technology and popular culture. A man can only be happy if he acquires a new computer gadget, beauty and slimming products, modish clothing, or a new car, or any consumer goods that reflect the drift and trend of a consumerist society.

Hence, the happiness of a Post Po-Mo Man, as postulated by this writer, is centered on the inordinate acquisition of ‘created needs’ that are commoditized by technology and popular culture. The human impulse is programmed, subliminally, and heuristically, to respond and acquire the inexhaustible supply of ‘invented needs’ haggled by a profit-driven world of mass media and mass culture.

This kind of happiness revolves on the gratification of human senses, particularly the ‘instinctive drive’ to purchase or possess the commoditized goods. The exhilarating urge to acquire is compulsive and gradational, depending on the new product being advertised or introduced in the market.

The causal effect, i.e. human satisfaction, is momentary and unpredictable. It may linger for a few days, hours, or minutes and then, gradually recede to its normal condition only to pursue the same manic impulse to acquire all over again. The ‘impulse’ is irrationally restless until it rests on the object of its desire, which is recurrent and addictive.

Regrettably, no amount of advance technological gadget or scientifically engineered cosmetic product can satisfy the post po-mo man’s hunger for commoditized happiness; because, by their very nature, the created needs and wants of technology and popular culture are pathologically ravenous, mutative, cyclical, and, to say the least, expensive.

Even if a man is the wealthiest and the most powerful individual on this planet, he cannot permanently retain the insalubrious sensation of happiness created by techno-po-culture but short-lived gratification in the human senses.

No one can buy, sell, or trade happiness because it is freely acquired in the human heart and soul. No one can monopolize happiness either because everyone has an equal share of its sublime experience.

Existential Meaning and the Sisyphean Principle of Happiness

Does happiness define human existence or does human existence define happiness?
Happiness can only be defined in the context of man’s ‘freedom’ and ‘attitude’ toward life. However, before he can define happiness, he must first redefine his ‘hierarchy of values’ in a rational and conscientious manner.

For instance, no one can place a career on top over a family relationship or social networking over the physical presence of friends. The hierarchy of values, per se, is the grounding of man’s being and like a signpost; it provides direction in his life. The grounding, in this manner, is the capability to put things rationally in the proper perspective according to the categorical order of one’s needs, purpose, and meaning in life.

As an ‘attitude,’ on the other hand, happiness is an act of will based on rational choice, transcending the temporal and empirical human experience. What a man possesses or acquires is only accidental, it does not define his dignity as a person in relation to his pursuit for happiness.  Because happiness, as an attitude, emanates from human will: how things are perceived or acted upon in relation to one’s hierarchy of values and freedom to live.

The willed nature of happiness is not dependent on the ‘tangible stimuli’ or the perceptible presence of material world, but intrinsic in the human will that perceives and transforms the empirical experience (positive or negative circumstances) into a transcendent encounter.

When the god Zeus, in Greek mythology, punished Sisyphus to roll a huge stone toward the top of the hill repeatedly, he thought that he had already condemned him to suffer in eternity. However, unbeknownst to Zeus, Sisyphus had found an invincible purpose and meaning amid his pointless activity.

His defiance is not physical, like cheating the god’s punishment by taking a detour at the foot of the hill, but metaphysical. The terminus ad quem of his act to perform a tedious task is not centered on how to overcome the physical nature of his punishment. However, it was a stance, based on free will and rational choice, of finding reason and relevance from a senseless activity, even though he knew that neither reward nor repose was waiting for him on top of the hill.

By doing so, Sisyphus redefined ‘happiness’ by transforming his grueling ordeal into a sublime struggle with purpose and meaning. In a manner of speaking, even if nothing was waiting at the end of man’s existential struggle in this world, he can still live his life with dignity and meaning because he alone wills the reason of his existence and his existence justifies the reason of his will.

Anyone can live even in the most despicable human condition and find meaning in its midst, because every individual possesses inner freedom, which is capable of rising above any circumstances. Man’s happiness is not found at the height of his achievement or among his material possessions, but within the process of ‘existential struggle’ to live a rational and meaningful existence.

Happiness and Summum Bonum

The vertical and horizontal direction of human existence is geared toward the total liberation from selfishness and ignorance. And the only way to attain it is to get involved with humanity and environment. The involvement presupposes commitment and respect for human life and environment toward the Summum Bonum or the highest good of humanity.

Transcendent Happiness, based on the principle of Summum Bonum, is a state of well-being and contentment shared by every member of the community. It is a rational experience of joy and fulfillment that something is benignly just or right in the context of freedom and social justice.

As a communal experience, its transcendent effect cannot be contained in a box to be enjoyed by a single person. Because the very essence of happiness is contagious, it has to flow and radiate to everyone and like daylight, it is shared and experienced by every living creature on the planet.

‘The happiness that I so long desired is not an exclusive pursuit, but also the pursuit of others. Even if I were the happiest person in the world, everything would be meaningless if others are wallowing in despair and desolation. If my pursuit for happiness is self-centered; then, it is not complete happiness at all because it is supposed to be shared and lived by everyone within the parameters of my freedom and existence.’

A man cannot be completely happy if he witnesses human rights violations, corruption, and injustices in his society. Neither can he claim to have obtained the ultimate happiness if hunger, poverty, and homelessness are looming in his midst. Ironically, the sorrow or sadness that is shared by everyone can become a liberating experience than the happiness being enjoyed by a single person.

A religious entity, for instance, cannot claim that it has obtained the ultimate Happiness or Salvation if it continues to divide and exclude other members of the society that do not belong to its fold. A political leader cannot proclaim that he or she has obtained just and prosperous governance if the citizens are wallowing in depression and misery.

In essence, the quality of man’s existence is ratified not by what he has obtained or possessed, but what he has created to make his community livable and meaningful to live. In this vein, the pursuit of happiness can only flourish with dignity and meaning if it is directed toward the sublime happiness of the entire community or society.

As a collective experience, happiness brings the despairing souls toward hope rather than helplessness. It destroys prejudices and indifferences; it eliminates negative energies that lurk among the members of the community; and it unites all men and women toward the universal and spiritual values of faith, hope, and charity.

Authentic happiness, therefore, is definable only in the context of man’s relationship with others and his environment: as a collective experience rather than egoistic, communal rather than self-serving. Collective happiness creates a shared goal and commitment among those who live its transcendent effect in a society nurtured by freedom, justice, and harmony.