Puberty Counseling: The Meaning of Life

It is nice to be young and it is nice to dream big. You will eventually come to a point where you will be convinced that you have been "hit by reality." When this happens, you will come to the conclusion that in order to succeed, you will need to conform to society and abandon your dreams. You are tainted by how much schools try to drill into you that "you need to be successful in college blah blah blah" Success is one way to work for your Pursuit, but it has its limitations to achieving happiness. However, money and living conditions are not what describe true happiness.

Happiness is the state of being happy. To be happy means to feel pleasure and satisfaction. If people wish to be happy, then you should too. There are an unlimited ways to be happy. The three main categories I like to think of happiness is based on 3 "R's": Religion, Recreation, and Reaction.

Many people throughout time have believed that religion is the ultimate source of happiness. That is your choice to decide. As a Catholic myself, I choose to believe in my faith because I wish to fulfill my life in happiness. Religion does have its purposes for society. Not too long ago I described myself as an agnostic. Why did I change that? I changed it because I believe in my religion and I want to truly understand it. Regardless of your religion, you will come to the point in your specific religion where you will want to develop your spirituality and deepen your sense of morality. If you choose to be atheistic or agnostic, then you too should at least try to value ethics and basic morality just as much as any other religious person would. If there was one common principle that I discovered studying the world’s religions, that principle would be altruism (the practice of helping others for the sake of their well-being.) I personally find it very fulfilling to be altruistic and it is a very virtuous way to live.

Some of you may have turned down your faith due to your personal experiences or your pursuit of knowledge and truth. All situations of turning away your religious affiliations are perfectly normal. I encourage you to deepen your quest for knowledge and truth because it will only benefit you as a person and ultimately as a decent human being. Study all religions and take interest in them. There is much wisdom for you to look at.

Now let’s look into recreational satisfaction. What I mean by “recreational” is by its very definition: Activity done for enjoyment when one is not working. This includes your social life, sexual life, hobbies, etc. It’s a pretty straightforward topic. You ought to live your life in modesty in conjunction with pride. To be modest means to live within your own means, to live humbly and to live in moderation. Being prideful with your life really means to be satisfied with your achievements in your life. There is nothing wrong with being a proud person. If you have accomplished something noteworthy and positive, then you should be proud of that achievement (with modesty.) Now how does pride and modesty tie into your recreational life? Well, don’t be a glutton, don’t be a sex animal, don’t be totally unproductive with your life, and don’t be too sucked up with your social status. I’ll say it again, live within your own means (meaning to live with what you can do and with what you have,) and be humble.

What do I mean by “reaction”? I am talking about your interaction with others. We are social beings and we need each other to coexist. Treating others badly reflects how little your social awareness is. If there is one good thing that can come from Christianity it would be this: treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself. Christians call this the “golden rule” for a good reason. Everything that relates to ethics and morality revolves around the concept of solidarity. To benefit the common good, you have to respect and treat others kindly. Sure we are imperfect, screw up a lot, get annoyed with each other, etc.; but, the reason why we need to be kind is the very reason what this whole topic is about: the pursuit of happiness. How can you expect to be happy if your actions prevent others from being happy?

Now that you know what the pursuit of happiness is, what it includes, and why you are to seek it, here is how you work for it.

First off, let me repeat that your pursuit has to be ethical, meaning morally correct and for the common good.

For example, cyber bullying someone just because it makes you happy is your life passion. This is unethical and you should not be doing this.

Let’s use an example of a proper idea: your life passion is art. You wish to attend the most prestigious art institute when you graduate high school and become the next Picasso.

This is a good example of an ethical goal.

Try to take advantage of all of your resources around you and educate yourself so that you can have your own path to a good life. Being deliberately ignorant and lazy is a terrible way to live and it is very unfulfilling. You will only live through life once; make the most of it by appreciating what you have and by setting good goals to work for.