What is Happiness?
You may have different ideas about happiness, like pleasure, being better than others or making a difference. It’s important to understand your own idea of happiness to achieve it. Without understanding happiness, it will be hard to be happy.
There are different levels of happiness, with level one being the least and level four being the most. Level one is just temporary pleasure, while level four is a deeper, more meaningful, and enduring happiness that comes from eternal life, truth, love, goodness, beauty, and home. You should strive for the highest level of happiness to have a more fulfilling life.
Happiness is the fulfillment of desire.
There are Four Levels:
- Pleasure (Bodily or material desires)
- Ego-Comparative (Ego, self-conscience)
- Contributive (Good beyond self, empathetic)
- Transcendent (Holy, truth, love, joy, home)
1 Pleasure (Bodily or material desires)
The first type is related to physical needs like food, water, and shelter. It is connected to the brain and senses, and it helps us survive and reproduce. But humans also have other types of desires and happiness, like ego-comparative, contributive, and transcendent. People may focus on the first type, but most will move on to the other types as they grow and age.
2 Ego-Comparative (Ego, self-conscience)
Some people compare themselves to others and base their happiness on it, this is called the comparison game. It can be dangerous and lead to feeling lonely and depressed. To be truly happy, one should not play the comparison game and look for happiness in something deeper and more meaningful. Being yourself and being happy with who you are, regardless of how you measure up to others is the key to happiness.
3 Contributive (Good beyond self, empathetic)
Empathy is the ability to connect and feel for others, it leads to caring for others, and making a positive difference in someone or something beyond us. Conscience is an inner sense that helps us distinguish right from wrong and judge actions as good or bad. The basis of conscience is the “silver rule” which is “do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.” This is the basic standard of justice that we all know and believe in.
4 Transcendent (Holy, truth, love, joy, home)
The fourth kind of happiness is when people feel a connection to something bigger than themselves, like God or spirituality. Many people naturally feel this way and it is not just based on wanting it to be true but there is something deeper. It is called transcendental happiness.
It is so important. It will determine our life. You choose everything for the sake of happiness.
Which do you focus on?
Overview
Ego-Comparative Level
Finding True Happiness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W8gRJddZ4w The complete story
Your Freedom allows You to Find True Happiness
You are always looking for happiness in your life. But this happiness is not just about feeling good or having fun, it’s about finding the most important and good thing in life. You make choices and use your freedom to find true happiness. It is about how sometimes people make choices that may look like they will make them happy, but they only disappoint. You should learn to recognize what will truly make them happy in order to make the right choices in your life.
True Happiness is Found through Worshiping the True God
Bishop Barron is discussing how religion can help us find true and unconditional happiness, which cannot be found in things like wealth, pleasure, power, or honor. He suggests that true happiness is found through worshiping the true God, who is love, and encourages people to clear out any obstacles or false forms of worship that might be in the way. He also advises Catholics working at Google to be open about their faith with others who may be curious.