Happiness according to Descartes?

Philosophical expoundings posted without permission of one of the authors.

[an email conversation]

Man, am I ever happy to be where I am today.

I’d probably be living in a house in the suburbs with two kids and another on the way by now if I had stayed with D.

Maybe you might have been happy…?

I might have been able to convince myself I was…

Well hey, that's what life basically is, right?

No! I think there’s a difference between convincing yourself you’re happy (when you might not really be) and actually BEING happy.

It comes down to figuring out what makes you happy and surrounding yourself, immersing yourself in what makes you happy (as much as possible).

I don't know, it's all kind of rationalizing to yourself, though.

You don't aim to get things set up in just such a way as the only method to truly being happy, generally.

There's so much crap in life and nothing is ever settled perfectly….you just have to be happy/find joy in whatever it is your doing, or the process you're engaged in.

Rationalizing? Maybe.

I agree with finding joy in whatever you do. However, I don’t think you should just accept your lot in life. No, you can’t expect everything to be perfect but you CAN get to know yourself and aim to get somewhere that makes you happy… even if you won’t necessarily get there right away, or by the path of your choosing.

I spent a lot of time effacing myself (in the very long life I have led up until now, hardy-har), only thinking about what made others happy, that I didn’t take the time to figure out what made me happy. That’s my goal now.

No kidding.

I think I meant that convincing yourself that you are (maybe 'defining yourself as' is less pejorative) happy and being happy are the same thing.

If you feel happy, you've named what you're feeling as happiness.