Happiness

"Happiness"

According to the ancient Greek philospher Aristotle, happiness is fulfilled when the quality of the whole human life has been achieved. In other words, to gain complete happiness a person has to live an entire life to actually say they have lived a good life. Someone who dies young cannot possibly understand the meaning of life because they are no longer here, which leaves the assertion "what if". Aristotle's philosophy to achieve complete happiness are: health, wealth, virtue, companionship, and knowledge.

The majority of individuals will agree that health is top priority because without good health there can be no form of true happiness. As an active member of the medical system, I try to follow medical advice and listen closely to all healthcare providers. In 1995, I lost a loved one because she was afraid to visit the doctor because she was worried "that they always find something wrong". When she did it was too late and they discovered a tumor on her breast and two months later she was dead.

Knowledge can be the second most important concept in achieving complete happiness because the more you know you will be able to understand and accept the challenges of everyday life. Also the more someone is educated the more money they can make, which leads to someone feeling comfortable and enjoying the spoils of life.

Now being rich and being wealthy are two different definitions. For example, a superstar basketball player is rich, but the person who signs his paycheck is wealthy. Society considers someone who is wealthy to be like Donald Trump, but this is not true. My take on this is, someone who takes care of his family, loves his job, and is a productive citizen is extremely wealthy in his heart. Wealth is "well being". Money does not buy happiness because all the material things it brings are temporary. When you die you don't take it with you.

The next concept according to Aristotle is virtue. This is a tough one because virtue means to be kind and being good. I have a hard time relating with this one because there are a lot of stupid people in the world that will make you angry. However, being virtuous instills values and morals that will be needed to make it through life. I believe this concept is equal with ethics, you need to treat someone right like you would want to be treated, for instance being a patient in a hospital, doing the right thing without anyone looking (integrity) instills quality patient care and the reward is job satisfaction.

Lastly, companionship is a must. Without health, wealth, knowledge, and virtue there is no sense of having a significant other (best friend, lover, wife, pet, etc.) Companionship determines who you are and where you fit in today's society. The biggest attributes to companionship is loyalty, honesty, and assistance to another human being or living creature. Without companionship loneliness is a terrible feeling and decreases the sense of well being to humankind. Remember Tom Hanks talking to Wilson in the movie "Castaway"?

Happiness is the one trait that all people are in search of no matter what the consequences are that lie ahead. As Aristotle pointed out children could never be happy because they have never lived a whole human life. Just remember when you are feeling depressed and life has got you down, there are people in this world who are worse off than you!