Happiness

Happiness consumes itself like a flame. It cannot burn for ever and the thought of its end destroys it at its very peak. -Strinberg

People who ruin themselves through their own stupidity always blame the one person they couldn’t fool. -Strinberg

They say happiness is only real when it’s shared. Well, in that case it would seem that relationships are the greatest source of happiness for people. And, in that case, it would seem that these people depend an awful lot on others.

That’s why I don’t like this rendition of happiness. Happiness, first of all, is illusory. It is a weird product of self-affirmation and the contentment afforded by the familiar, by the predictable or expected. And I believe that self-affirmation— contentment, that is— can be achieved in any state by any person if he is known to himself, that is, if he should believe himself to content.

Regarding relationships and sharing happiness, I believe this is a rosy picture that robs people of their individualism, their ability to remain self-affirming, self-sufficient, to remain known to themselves.