Happiness Versus Pleasure : The sweetest version by Uche Osita James

The greatest problem we face as humans - in my opinion - is the
misplacement of priorities and the substitution of pleasure for
happiness. Now of course people have argued about the distinction, if
any between happiness and pleasure and they well by now may have
gotten their answers. The difference is really quite simple; time. As
human what we often value the most is comfort as opposed to any other
thing whereas in the real sense what we should value the most is time.
Time difference, like I was saying , is the difference between
pleasure and happiness.

While pleasure is short-lived, Happiness is continuous and is an
intrinsic sentiment not necessarily tied to overt events as pleasure
is. This is often justified through the popular saying; Money can buy
pleasure but not happiness. It is simply because of the nature of
happiness. Philosophers would posit thoughtfully - after their muse
breaks under avocado trees - that I am happy because I want to be. Of
course this assertion is not entirely correct since one becomes happy
not simply because he wants to, for even in reality we are constantly
in pursuit of happiness and still this is not conclusive proof that
all humans are happy, nor does the fact that all humans want to be
happy justify the occurrence. Indeed we are happy simply because we
decide to be. Even this is a continuous effort.

On the substitution. Because it is difficult to decide to be happy as
opposed to wanting to be happy. We now entertain short cuts which fate
uses voraciously, to hoodwink us to into the belief that we are
actually happy, when in fact we are being pleasured and many a time it
doesn't last very long. It wears off after a very short while like the
psychotropic substances of repute- cannabis, marijuana and other
brothers of the same nuclear family. We can never attain happiness
through pleasure. The opposite of this, is the biggest lie being sold
today and sadly many are buying into it.

For instance the fact that a man is wealthy does not guarantee that he
would make you happy, but then when you are speaking from the position
of the broke guy who is probably struggling to do many things for her-
to make her happy. Of course she leaves you, no argument. Then again,
sometimes after the first three years of marrying "the perfect man"
she realizes that she is not happy, at all. Now I am not trying to
posit that poverty can give happiness, nor even the ill conceived
notion of happiness – pleasure. All I am saying is that what we seek
is not often what we see and if we are not discerning enough we might
keep hoping for a person to come and carry us to fairy land, slay all
the dragons and make us happy forever. Good God ! Doesn't that even
sound like slavery. No one is created with the sole purpose of making
anyone perpetually happy while not being happy him/herself. Indeed
even the bible posited that one should love his neighbor as himself,
positively implying that one must learn to love himself well, first
before others.

Still on Happiness, it feels like water. Deep, mysterious and
comforting. It has a timeless appeal and it tickles the cheek, this
explains why happy people often smile at intervals when there seems to
be absolutely nothing to smile about.
Happiness whether we choose to accept it or not is our priority in
life. And if you are in doubt I would like you to answer these
questions honestly.

Why do you choose to forgive betrayals rather than keep malice?

As a student, why do you read every single day?

Why do you wake every morning, prepare and go for lecturers ?

Now, pertaining to the third question. Of course it is probably not
because you love lectures, that is seldom the case. It is simply
because sometimes there is an attendance on default of which certain
consequences are meted or simply to understand the topic being treated
with the ultimate goal of learning, passing, principle and so on. But
all in all, with the ultimate goal of happiness in the end. Another
question which might interest you is;

Why do you worship God?

A Christian reply then would of course be, because you love him. This
may be true. However, think deeper. What is the truth is not what you
say or think is right to say but what is really true. It's really
because you are hopeful of the happiness in the end when the time of
reckoning approaches and the joy heaven preaches. And if you say I
speak lies, the question to you is, "If there was no heaven warped
intrinsically into the Christian faith and doctrines would you still
believe in God?" or to put it better , "Would you still worship God if
there were no posited consequences for refusing to do so and no
concomitant advantage for choosing to do so?".

Finally, there are really no boundaries to human sentiments and
behaviors are yet still, largely unpredictable. However, one does not
need a prophet to say that everyone at some point was or is sad. This
is as a result of the ascribing of happiness to pleasure, misplacement
of priorities or tying one's happiness to a person or thing. Pleasure
preaches ecstasy, Happiness - joy, my admonition is; choose wisely.