well it's finals week. and i'm busy studying my brain out and writing papers.
but I just thought I'd share a little bit of the paper I've been writing for my Humanities class.
It's my philosophy on happiness and life iteself.....
Life is a journey. As simple as that
statement may be, it is full of truthfulness and it greatly defines life as
many people know it to be. In this journey of life we are faced with challenges,
happiness, shortcomings, love, and overall joy that are often compared to a
rollercoaster of ups and downs. These
major events and feelings are what shape who we are and our views on life
itself. It is simply up to us on how we react in these situations. I believe
that positivity is everything. If we adapt to the different changes in our
lives, realize the important things in life, and show gratitude we will find
joy in the journey.
Happiness
and joy are often used interchangeably, but I think that they are very
different from each other. Happiness is often external while joy is found from
inner feelings. Joyful people think and act differently, they do not dwell on
the negative and their attitude towards life is positive. Joyful people are happy
people, but to me the big difference is that people can still have joy even
during times of trial because they have learned to look for the positive in
everything, just as stoics believe.
Stoics
believe that pain is essential to living. Richard Paul Janaro says, “The best
possible course is to prepare for the worst and develop a technique for dealing
with it” (392). I do believe in the stoic’s philosophy that pain is essential
to living because it is what teaches us life lessons and humbles us. Without
experiencing pain, people would not be able to feel empathy for one another that
have experienced or gone through similar trials and hardships. They simply
wouldn’t know what true happiness is and what it feels like because they
wouldn’t know any difference. Even while suffering pain, stoics are able to
look to the positive and find happiness because they have learned that with a
positive mindset they will eventually find happiness in their trials.
I have had my
own experiences in finding joy in my life journey so far. As a 15 year old girl
I slowly discovered this philosophy when my family and I moved to Oak Harbor,
Washington from our hometown in Utah. Honestly, I was not excited
to move and take on this so-called “adventure” as my parents would say. I did
not want to leave the things behind that I thought brought such great happiness
to me. I was scared for the change and afraid of the unknown. But with my
family there to support me, I slowly became used to my new surroundings. These
times were hard for me, but I realized that if I looked for something positive
in each day (even as simple as an American Idol episode) I could make my situation so much better. I began to accept and
adapt to this change in my life, and thought of it as a learning experience in
many different ways. I believe that we can learn to be happy in our trials or
we can continue to complain; but it is the way we view our experiences that
will determine our outcome and overall happiness. Just as the Romantic
philosophy of Austhetics, it is the way we look at something, either as
beautiful or sublime that will decide our experience with it. My experience in
Washington taught me that life is not about dwelling on the past and what could
have happened, but looking forward to the future and making the best of it.
I
have learned that change is constant and we must continually embrace it. And
because it is always changing we must not take for granted the things that we
have and are able to do, because someday they could be taken away from us. Lately
this concept has brought so much more meaning to my life. I am a part of a
dance group called Kalamity/Kaos where we dance for someone with a “calamity”
in their life and are in need of financial help. This past year we have been
working hard and doing fundraisers for our 2012 cause, Mighty Meg. Meg is the
definition of mighty. She has battled through chondrosarcoma bone cancer for
six years now and continues to fight every day. Meg has endured and fought far beyond
what most would think possible with this life threatening disease. She has gone
through dozens of surgeries, two failed attempts of chemotherapy, and many more
procedures. Even with all these attempts, her tumors continue to grow and spread
every day. I have learned that unexpected changes can happen to anyone at
anytime, which is why it is so important to not take our health, our abilities,
and our family for granted at any time. In this certain circumstance I have
learned to not take for granted my talent and ability to dance, something that
has been taken away from Meg forever, because I never know when that ability
may be taken away from me. Doing this service has helped me realize the
blessings I have been given in my life and makes me want to live everyday to
the absolute fullest.
Experiencing
these things and changes are why I think it is important to be able to
distinguish between what is important in life and what is not. What is most
important almost always involves the people around us. At these times of
hardship and change, I have grown so much closer to my family and others around
me more than ever before. They truly have become my best friends and I realize
how important they are in my life. Realizing what is important in life goes
hand in hand with gratitude of all that we have. The ancient Roman philosopher
Horace said, “Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful
hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you
have been, you may say that you have lived happily” (Monson, 2008).
Rather than looking at the negative, I believe that if we step back and look at
our blessings, big or small, we will find happiness and joy in our lives. I
know from experience that if people do these things that they will learn to
ultimately find joy in the journey, and that is what life is all about!
Happy Finals week!!
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