The Tragedy of Happiness

There was a man who sought joy and happiness. He searched high and low. He painted himself with attractive bright colors to appear happy and joyful. Then he started to seek thrills, sought success, sought money, power, and fame. He tried everything and anything.

As he sat down one day, exhausted in his search, he observed a family nearby. They were smiling, but wearing poor clothing. They had each other’s company and enjoyed it, but the man was alone, because he had exhausted everyone else in his search for happiness.

These people were not the smartest around: they spilt food that was preciously bought, they offended each other with miscommunication, and yet, they were still happy. He saw it in their eyes. They had cared for each other, and they were happy. They even gave food happily to the stray cats nearby.

He sat there and envied them. They had no hopes of being rich, successful, or powerful. But they were happy. He envied them for their lack of achievements, for their contentment with the present. He grew insanely jealous, as he observed all that they were happy with. He sat there, stewing in frustration, while the family continued to frolic in the sun. He sat there and planned something. He knew there and then, that if he could not have the happiness he wanted, he would take it from everyone else that had it. At least then everyone would be miserable together.

He took the money he earned, and bought over their houses. He emptied out the other families that lived in the building, and replaced that with offices; for work, for profit, for chasing after his versions of happiness. He found little bits of fun that they still tried to have for themselves, and he bought those over as well. Whatever he found that was out of his power to buy, he ordered laws against them and made them criminal.

Bit by bit, he took happiness away from everyone else. He sat again, at the same spot, again exhausted, but now from removing happiness from everyone. The family was no longer there, replaced by a franchised store, selling knick knacks at marked up prices. As he sat down, and decided that he was happy, that he had removed happiness from everyone else. And there, he found his happiness.


(I published this story first on Medium – medium.com/@trisected)


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