Life, Liberty and the Pursuit Of Happiness
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
Loading ...History to high school and college students is about what we did last weekend and for many students, that’s a tough question to answer. I’m thinking Humanities should be taught at the age of 40. That way, we can appreciate all those that came before us and what they did so we can live the way we do today.
Perhaps there is no more famous or well written phrase in the English language other than “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Why was it written? When was it written? Who wrote it? And why is it so famous?
One answer that makes a whole lot of sense is that the phrase identifies America and what it stands for. Yes, it’s part of the Declaration of Independence written in 1776 in case you were wondering but what makes it so famous is that those words resonate today in 2011 just as they did way back then. It’s the reason why America is the most powerful and successful country in the world and why immigrants from the world over moved to America way back when. Can you think of another country you would rather reside in?
Life is precious and the ability to be born in a democratic country is special.
Liberty is precious. The ability to walk anywhere, travel anywhere and be free 24 hours a day with persecution is special.
But it’s the pursuit of happiness that this blog is focused on. The founding father’s of America didn’t state the “Pursuit of Safety” or the “Pursuit of Wealth” or the “Pursuit of Eating.” They didn’t state anything about law, politics, religion or sports. Just happiness. People in America must pursue happiness. Why?
As kids, we are always told of the stories our parents and grandparents had to endure when they were kids. “We had to walk five miles to school in below zero weather and we were still on time!” “We had to work 10 hours a day for a nickel.” “If I said that to my father, I would be whipped and slapped.” Every generation has its stories.
So what makes someone happy? How do we know when we found happiness? Have you found the Apple app for happiness? There are so many things that can make us happy for a moment, a day, a week, perhaps a month. How about everyday all the time?
Perhaps what the founding father’s should have stated instead is the “Pursuit of Misery.” People love misery. They love to talk to others about misery. They love to read newspapers and see TV shows about it. They love to tune in to floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, disasters and such. No one wants to read about the guy who won the lottery or hit the jackpot. Truthfully though, misery sucks and it’s time to pursue happiness.
Why? Because we have life, we have liberty and we have so much more than others. Terrorism, war, natural disasters, $4 gas, politics, NY Times, and CNN are by-products of our environment that we can’t control. Why be miserable about such things? Personally, I am most happy when I can focus on those things that make me happy and when I am around people who make me happy. People who aren’t happy I don’t hang with. Life is too short. In regard to things, things are replaceable and mostly stuff we can live without. Yes, it’s nice to have things but happiness isn’t about the “Pursuit of Things.”
Time is flying by fast and I love history more now than ever before. Obama made history last week, perhaps the Red Wings will make history by winning the series after being down 0-3. Verlander made history with his second no-hitter. See, we really do love history when you think about it. It’s part of America. It’s part of us. Let’s pursue what’s really important.
What all this has to do with the beauty business? You got it- pursuit of happiness. That’s what beauty is all about. Let’s make more people happy.
Happy Tuesday!
