Condemned to Happiness

Some philosophical doctrines claim that life is suffering. Others say that life takes place between the joys and sorrows of life. When one delves deeper into these beliefs, they state that pain teaches more than joy. The Egyptians corroborate this belief, saying that suffering purifies the soul and makes us more sympathetic and understanding regarding the suffering of others, which makes us better human beings. You cannot understand what you have not suffered.

There are people, however, who fall outside this pattern. I refer to Mr. H. He is not the master of his own destiny. The rest of us have the option of choosing between two paths with opposing consequences. Mr. H. does not. He is not the master of himself, he is a prisoner of his fate. Neither circumstances nor his will could change him. Yet, he is lucky enough to have been born with objectivity and, thanks to that, he was able to realize that he should not lift a finger to change his circumstances nor his fate, and that he should settle down comfortably and happily consume his life. The price of this happiness was mediocrity and he also knew this and accepted it. Why would he want superiority? He was content and comfortable with himself, while living his destiny.

It is said that life would be boring without suffering, but this is not true. Why would it be boring? Also, we have more suffering than we should because of our imperfect conception of life. People do not learn early enough to prioritize between what is worth paying attention to and what is not. Here we are speaking of individuals; collectively it is even worse because men are not content to suffer alone, but must drag others down with them, thinking themselves to be so important.

Thus, it is absurd to be mortified at what the rest of humanity thinks of one; reputation is a social invention to control our behavior, to make us hypocrites. How can one base one’s actions on how others conceive of us? Live up to so and so’s expectations and later someone else’s. But when do we fulfill ourselves? When we are being buried?

History is full of references to this topic. In its pages, one sees how countless people lost their lives so that they would be remembered, leaving family behind and betraying their friends. And why? So that they would not be forgotten? So that some page of a book would say that they had existed?