Published By: Orna Ghosh

What does a happy life look like according to ancient beliefs?

The definition for happy life differs from person to person; one might find happiness by spending time with family or friends, while others might find it in spending alone time. 

Happiness is just the state of mind, which is about subjective well-being, life satisfaction, eudaimonia and flourished mind. It is an emotional state characterised by the feeling of excitement, fulfilment, positivity and contentment. However, today we fail to respect the value of happiness in life, and as a result, we end up taking it for granted.

Experts are finding the answer to the questions about happiness- What makes people happy? Does the pursue happiness for others? According to them, it is impossible to live a happy life in today’s world, but they believe that ancient wisdom can enlighten us towards it.

Below is the advice from ancient books and journals.

Avoid indulging yourselves in sadness, boredom and anxietyfor a happy life. Today, we live in a society filled with the cacophony of negative energies and thoughts. Be it a trending movie or web series audience gets attracted to thriller and crime stories. It affects our mind to a great deal, leaving us unhappy, judgemental or intolerant. Therefore, we must follow the advice to keep a distance from negative vibes and surround ourselves with optimistic thoughts.

Gaining knowledge and wisdom helps to lead a better life. According to Aristotle, the secret to a happy life lies in the history of human beings. Earlier, the historical background of human philosophy and its thought process used to draw attention, but modern society lacks this observation. We know that knowledge is power, and spreading it among the community will hold our minds to the power of wisdom. Therefore, we must make an effort to understand the fundamental values of universal truths to implement the benefits in our life.

No matter how harsh reality is, accept it for a beautiful life. We all hate the obstacles that come our way, but we fail to understand how life works. Our tendency to refuse reality trains our minds to change or destroy it. The worst evil of the human world is created by those who cannot accept the truth about existence. Therefore, it is important to change our beliefs about the existence of hurdles and accept reality.

We can conclude that ancient theories about a happy life make sense, and therefore we must try to implement them in our life.