Meaning and Gratification

Pleasure is part of happiness and learning how to increase our pleasurable experiences can aid in living a good life. Still, pleasure should be viewed as the pepper of life. It is the stuff that enhances an already meaningful existence. By experience most of us already know this: sex without love becomes empty, wonderful food without company is mediocre, and material wealth without the ability to share it or use it for good leads to hollowness. Interestingly, though we all can think of examples of people who have lead miserable...

What is Happiness?

Pleasure The media with all its daily noise tell us that happiness is one thing, when in our innermost hearts we know it is something quite different. Even though at some level we know that there is a better way to happiness we all often fall into the pitfalls of the latest fad, product, or chase.           Maybe you have experienced the let down from chasing something that you thought would make you happy? We all have. The question is not why we experience these...

What does Happiness Applied Mean?

I once heard a story about an American who was spending some time in Czechoslovakia. After a few days of acclimating himself, he felt like going out on a walk to explore the little village where he was staying. Strolling down the street he saw an old woman hanging clothes out to dry. Being in a cheery mood, the man exclaimed in his best Czech, “Good morning! How are you today?” To his surprise, and at length, the women began to answer his very question. Unable to understand Czech the man watched as the women moved her arms up...