Happiness is not a passive state, but a product of positive attitude
and positive action. And this positive attitude is the result of a
mental effort. In short, happiness implies dynamism. Let us explore
this concept if you like.
Life is too hard and too risky in the eyes of many. By contrast, others
are such proponents of a virile existence, demanding great courage and
giving great pride, that they are ready to leave the coziness of their
home to scale Mount Everest and breast the elements for the sheer joy
of conquering the summit. Whatever the perspective, the nature of
things remains unchanged. There are rules, necessities and duties, and
limits, possibilities and impossibilities. Until doom, one can accept
them and make the best of them, much to one’s pleasure and honor, or
one can do the opposite and suffer the consequences. The choice between
these two options is the very essence of freedom. Personally, I have no
use for the second option: a self-inflicted misery that is without the
slightest doubt a pitiable way of life.
The first option, on the other hand, is a pleasurable and honorable
alternative that I find compelling, though uphill. It is applicable to
any situation encountered in the course of one’s living venture,
provided one is not unfortunate to the point of being hopelessly unable
to cope. The range of this applicability corresponds with the range of
one’s adaptability. It is normally considerable, despite the tendency
to cling to old gratifying habits even after they have become
impracticable or unsuitable, owing to a change of situation. One can be
weaned from such habits onto new gratifying habits, in the same way as
a baby can be weaned onto solids. The more the change is significant
and one is reluctant to adapt to it, the more the weaning process is
difficult and long in producing the desired effect. Again, the only
option worthy of one’s attention consists in taking things as they come
and making the most of them, for one’s sake and that of others. The
reverse is foolish and harmful, a deplorable waste of humanity.
On the whole, the power to live in a well-adjusted and high-minded way
and the freedom to choose this way in preference to the alternate,
illegitimate, way are the foundations of the life one builds. The
exercise of this power does not necessarily imply a principled
resignation toward the status quo. One may be faced with a remediable
evil that calls for a struggle to remedy it, effectively and rightly.
In that case, living in a well-adjusted and high-minded way entails
accepting the need for this struggle and the means of waging it, and
sparing no effort to attain one’s end. Ills are a test of will, an
opportunity to show dignity.
They are also an opportunity to probe and appraise one’s inner
resources. Over the years, I have improved my situation and especially
my attitude, whose negativity was the most unfavorable and improvable
aspect of my life. In so doing, I have discovered my true richness.
Nature has endowed me with an adaptable capacity for happiness within
the limits of my changeable reality. According to my observations, this
capacity is not unusually great, compared with that of most people. I
am even tempted to think it is somewhat lagging behind. Eleven years
plus to adapt in triumph to my physical disability is no feat for the
Guinness Book of World Records!
During that time, the riddle of life had more or less baffled me. Yet,
laboriously, with the help of many books and much thought, I had
managed by degrees to clear it up, enough to find a meaning to my life.
This riddle is comparable to a mire: The slower you go through it, the
deeper you get into it. Perhaps thinkers are commonly untalented in the
art of living and their saving grace is their dogged determination to
redeem this lack of talent by dint of studying the human soul.
Amusingly enough, these untalented individuals are often perceived as
gifted, once they have seen the light and reflected it with the
numerous mirrors of an elaborate analysis, after a tentative and
protracted search in the dark.
This sort of overcompensation is typical of people who experience
difficulties in a certain area, but refuse to admit defeat. While some
fare well in this area with a minimum of effort, they try hard to
overcome these difficulties, with the result that they often fare
better than the others. Their redeeming feature is their willpower in
the face of their shortcoming, which they use as a reason to redouble
their efforts, not as an excuse to throw in the towel. This is a recipe
for a worthy success. They discipline and surpass themselves, and thus
proudly turn things around.
