I wanted to write about Jews, Adolf Hitler or even Steve Jobs but I don’t know why my mind keeps telling me to write about it while my heart keeps “screaming and yelling” at me, telling me to write about The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell. I hope what I put in here triggers your mind to somehow muse about what makes you truly happy. Here we go fellas.
Bertrand Arthur William Russell. Just by looking at his picture (above), you could envision him as a very well educated man, a bit eccentric from the look of his hair ( or maybe he just like his hair the way it was), his face shows wrinkles but not just any old wrinkles, it shows that he have lots of experiences in life. He won a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950. He wrote The Conquest of Happiness which is about (in my opinion) how an individual defines happiness is different from how others define it. Such as, a mathematician might feel the happiest when he comes up with a new theory or a new way to solve a mathematic problem meanwhile a farmer might feel the happiest when he holds one of the fruits he successfully produced after months of watering and taking care of the crops. This book is divided into two halves: the causes of unhappiness and the causes of happiness.
From my point of view, this book can relate to everyone who is in a conquest to search for happiness. I agree with Bertrand when he proposed the idea of “different people, different definition of happiness”. A professor and a clerk couldn’t share the same happiness, right? Same goes to you and I. We don’t define happiness in the same way. Happiness is subjective and there are many answers to it. Biased or not, it’s how a person sees it. According to Bertrand, most people in civilized countries suffer from unhappiness. Why does this happen? Bertrand largely believes that the causes of unhappiness are caused by mistaken views of the world, mistaken ethics, mistaken habits of life and etc.
If you are unhappy with your life right now, is it because on how you view the world? Does happiness means you have to enjoy each day with a big smile on your face and not a care about the world? What about the so- called educated people? The individuals that thinks too much, coming up with new theories and etc? What makes them truly happy?
I, myself, will admit that one of the causes of unhappiness I feel was mentioned by Bertrand, which is fear of public opinion. I’ve been unhappy for some time and I feel the need to get the approval of my family and friends in how I should live my life in order for me to be happy.
Bottom line is, after reading this book, you know happiness is not something impossible. It’s something that everyone can achieve if they follow the right track in their life. In simple words, happiness is within reach.
