Happiness & the Meaning of Life
Happiness & the Meaning of Life is a philosophical study of the art (and science) of living well. The course explores the writing and philosophy of Aristotle, Seneca, the Buddha, Epicurus, William James, and many others. Expect to learn perennial lessons (and practices) to help you flourish in the modern day.
“Only to live, to live and live! Life, whatever it may be!”
— Fyodor Dostoevsky
Do you consider gratitude a virtue?
The Roman statesman Cicero did, he once called “gratitude not only the greatest of all virtues but the parent of all others.”
The wisdom (or practice) of being grateful appears across wisdom traditions. Becoming wiser may have more to do with being grateful for life (despite its challenges) than we realize. But philosophical and spiritual traditions often speak of gratitude in slightly different ways than we do in modern culture.
Take this insight from the Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast,
You think this is just another day in your life. It’s not just another day; it’s the one day. It’s the one day that is given to you today. It’s a gift. It’s the only gift you have right now — and the only appropriate response is gratefulness.
We generally agree that being grateful, as Steinl-Rast suggests, is an appropriate response. We know that modern researchers, philosophers, and theologians all point to the benefits and wisdom of gratitude.
Then, why is it so easy to take things for granted?
Why do we forget how truly fortunate we are to be alive?
Gratitude to Grateful
My interview with Kristi Nelson (author of Wakeup Grateful) revealed the difference between gratitude and being grateful. Nelson explained that ‘gratefulness’ is gratitude for life. ‘Gratefulness’ reminds us that we continually receive in simply being alive. While gratitude needs something good to happen, ‘gratefulness’ only requires us to be awake.
Similarly, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s approach to life was called Amor Fati (or love of fate). Nietzsche described it this way,
My formula for greatness in a human being is Amor Fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it… but love it.
Nietzsche’s approach didn’t attempt to erase the past but instead accepts what has occurred, the good and the bad, the mistaken and the wise, resulting in all-embracing gratitude.
It’s important to remember that gratitude is a wisdom practice (or perennial habit). And wisdom is not our default setting. Learning to be grateful is a habit that must be cultivated and nurtured again and again.
Epicurean Gratitude
The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus had much to say about the practice of gratitude. Prof. Emily Austin (a previous podcast guest) writes in Living for Pleasure,
Epicurean gratitude is my favorite part of the philosophy. We clearly practice it somewhat naturally when we engage in reminiscence, but we can also develop deeper reservoirs of pleasant memories by making gratitude part of how we live. […]
Epicurus believed that despite suffering and challenges in life, we can simultaneously maintain what he called a “gladness of mind.” In his final days, he wrote to a friend,
On this blissful day, which is also the last of my life, I write this to you. My continual sufferings from strangury and dysentery are so great…; but over against them all I set gladness of mind at the remembrance of our past conversations.
The Epicurean view is that you already have everything you need if only you could see it. Consider contemplating this question: “Do I actually already have everything I need?”
Epicurus breaks what we need down into three categories:
What do we need? What is essential for our physical survival? Food, water, shelter from the elements; that’s about it. These are nature’s demands. Epicurus called the desire for these things “natural and necessary.”
But what if you want something beyond mere essentials? That’s all fine, Epicurus would say, and perfectly reasonable. The desire for these things grows out of our more basic natural desires for food, water, and shelter, even if it goes beyond what is essential. Epicurus called these sorts of things “natural, but not necessary.”
Then there’s everything else: everything we presumably think we need to live a happy life. For Epicurus, these things would fall into the third category of things, the “unnatural and unnecessary.”
It can be challenging to accept that the “natural and necessary” things are what we genuinely need. Everything else is mere window dressing.
Epicurus stressed that what we need is very little and, because of that, is relatively easy to secure. By realizing this point, we can practice gratitude for what we already have, not what we don’t. To quote Epicurus, “He who is not satisfied with a little is satisfied with nothing.”
Final Thoughts
What if you truly have everything you need — right in this moment? How might your life change if you were to adopt a consistent’ gratefulness’ practice?
The practice (or habit) of being grateful is universal wisdom. It’s an action, just like any other virtue. To quote the American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.
Grateful living is a way of life. It’s a practice, discipline, habit, and virtue. It’s a necessary ingredient for the art of living. It calls us to know what matters, what doesn’t, and what is truly enough.
As the Buddhist proverb says, “Enough is a feast.”
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Thank you for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it!
Until next time, be wise and be well,
J.W.
P.S. To learn more, catch up on previous volumes below!
Happiness & the Meaning of Life — series:
Being and Becoming (Read)
Saying ‘Yes’ to Life (Read)
How to Flourish Like Aristotle (Read)
The Art (and Science) of Well-Being (Read)
The Courage to Create (Read)
A Buddhist Guide to Happiness (Read)
Being Grateful to Nature (the infinite) maybe the true spiritual high (connection).