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Everyone wants to know how to bring happiness. It is the one question that has pervaded through the air of every school of thought.
Everyone has a life purpose, a fulfilling role to play, a dream to make come true.
I have a different perspective.
Desire is a double-edged sword. Desire is what gets us out of the bed every morning, what pushes us through the middle of the day, what keeps us from giving up on whatever we’re doing.
Thanks to the massive developments made in technology, agriculture, and medical industries, human desires have generally graduated from needs of survival to a journey for pleasure, enjoyment, fulfillment.
The desire of the superficial leads to hearts with holes, dissatisfaction, sometimes even greed that just won’t be satiated. The desire for what is genuine, pure, and true is what grants relief to the trials and tribulations every single one of us is forced to face every single day.
Self-accomplishment, Companionship, and Beauty.
These are things that I believe feed the hunger of the human soul. To own something of your own, to overcome a challenge and call it your own victory is gratifying and comes as no surprise. The glittering laughter of your close friend, the warm fingertips of a beloved family member, or the humming of a sincere lover are no doubt obvious bearers of happiness as well. But how does the prospect of beauty become a meal for the self?
A slew of Greek philosophers scratched the surface on this. The sight of something beautiful bubbles joy into the heart. The sight of an awe-inspiring mountain, the smell of fresh rain, the crisp chirp of a sparrow in a forest. Nature answers the craving with a vibrancy that few human-made inventions can deliver. And every time I come back from a beloved hike, I grow more and more confident of that fact.
