In the Atlantic magazine there is an article profiling the lives of very advantaged young men. I mean they begin life advantaged and then life tosses them a lemon and they are divorced or drunk or life treats them to a cool lemonade and they stay married, sober and successful.
The conclusion of the article is sound. It says simply that Happiness is love. Can't argue with that. In fact I found this wisdom on a sign over the bar at The Arches in Newport Beach, Calif. It said, "The joy of life is living it". However, there is a sober reminder from Orwell that we must also acknowledge the hard facts of life, to wit, "You will be forgotten in one generation and in two no one will know you ever lived". Well, OK, maybe you need the Vulcan answer, "Live long and prosper". A character in Phillip Roth's "Everyman" says to Mr. Everyman (you never learn his name) "You're in your 70's so you've had a life". Something you can't say about James Dean or Heath Ledger. But hey, enough with the heavy philosophy. There is a nice cartoon in the May 11th, 2009 New Yorker that shows Dr. Frankenstein, Igor and the monster raising their wine glasses and toasting "To life".
Indeed, you can only sneak up on happiness, but never catch it. In an essay on Arthru Koestler, Orwell wrote "Men can only be happy when they do not assume that the object of life is happiness". His compatriot John Lennon had a similar take when he sang 'Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." (Beautiful Boy)
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