Happiness Sucks

Happiness sucks comes as a witty essay on spirituality, offering a positive comparison study between the pursuit of happiness versus the path towards Presence. In spite of being written in a playful voice and a tongue-in-cheek tone, it earnestly aims at first and foremost defining happiness once and for all, and then at questioning the validity of its sacrosanct pursuit. Whereas the idea of happiness is almost religiously revered all around the world, this nonconformist endeavor shows itself brave enough to buck the global trend in order to debunk the mythical aura of the most sought-after concept. In truth, 7 billion humans all around the globe seem busy – more or less successfully – searching for elusive happiness, even though its frantic pursuit often reveals itself quite misleading, if not totally counterproductive in the end, according to iconoclastic me.

On the other hand, practicing Presence – the virtuous discipline of wisely accepting and enjoying life as is – reveals itself both liberating and empowering, mostly because it does not require from us anything else than sheer awareness and appreciation, contrary to the overabundance of material goods "happiness" seems to necessitate lately. Indeed, the originally philosophical quest has recently been turned into an infinitely wide market of mass products, ranging from foodstuffs, clothes, to cars, which are being shamelessly commercialized worldwide, thereby threateningly polluting and exhausting our dear planet. It is high time we find ourselves a sounder approach to this almost pathological obsession with happiness, and the eco-friendly discipline of Presence might be the wisest alternative…