By Luke Nolan, Staff Writer
A recent article on Aleteia caught my attention. It described a course offered at Yale University on “happiness” that had become very popular. With that said, I do not mean to insult the intelligence of the young men and women who attend that school. Rather, I simply seek to identify what seems to be a problem in society, especially among young people. The existence of a course on “happiness” is indicative of a societal problem which stems from a misunderstanding of its true meaning.
The problem that plagues young men and women today is a lack of purpose, which leads to a lack of fulfillment. Many, including myself, are often discouraged. A tendency towards nihilism and relativism in our culture does not help the situation. In fact, a study done by Barna Research has found that, among adults, only 22 percent believe there is truth, while the rest deem truth to be decided personally. This would naturally lead to confusion when deciding what is right and what is wrong.
The nihilism of today is nothing more than an excuse for self-centeredness, caring for nothing but things like alcohol, sex, money and success. Ironically, the idolization of those things has led to a decrease in their value to the point where they no longer satisfy us as much, leading to addiction. Those things, while good in themselves, cannot be the final goal. They cannot fulfill our desires, no matter how much we drink or how much money or sex we have, because all of those are temporary.
The lack of happiness among young adults, which seems to now necessitate a course, stems from a fundamental misconception regarding the nature of the human person and happiness. Without delving too deep into what that entails, it is important for people to understand that, while flawed, we are meant for greatness.
How we get to greatness is much easier said than done, however, as it requires one to take an honest look in the mirror and ask, “Am I really happy?”
The answer among my peers is “No.” To many, happiness involves the temporary, material world. It is obvious to see this trend at most, if not all, universities. True happiness, it seems, comes from suffering; suffering makes one appreciate the boring and mundane parts of the human experience, while sweetening those moments of bliss that we all desire.
While one cannot fully describe what it means to be human, one pithy phrase which stays in my head is that of St. Irenaeus. He describes that, as created beings, we are made for and ordered to greatness: “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”
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