Madison Summerfield

                                                                                          
We are conditioned by society at an early age that the purpose of life revolves around happiness. However, in a world that strives to prey on our material desires, it may not be surprising to realize that we have lost our understanding of what it takes to truly make our minds and souls happy. However, Mahatma Gandhi once said “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Inspired by the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau- revolutionary writers of the transcendentalist movement, this essay will call into action our inner yearnings for such harmony. In order to gain true happiness, it is crucial for us, as individuals, to live in the present and by our own internal constitutions, even if that means being misunderstood.
To be happy, we must live in the present. Capitalists and privileged people may disagree and say money is the true path to happiness. However, we must call to attention of how this materialistic way of looking at the world only serves to physically please our senses and not address our mental or spiritual needs. Living in the present entails changing the way we see the world, not what we look at or physically do. Yet do we really know what it truly means to live in the moment? According to Gautama Buddha-a sage who founded Buddhism with his teachings, “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” In this case, happiness is determined not by where you are or what you’re doing, but rather your state of mind. This matters because it is the gateway of understanding how your mindset affects your daily outlook of the world.
Psychologists everywhere, like Abraham Maslow- who was best known for creating Maslow's hierarchy of needs, agree: “The ability to be in the present is a major component of mental wellness,” (Abraham Maslow). It is our perspective that we see the entire world through, therefore our state of mind has the power to build us up and tear us by our own choosing. Let me give you an example of the power our mindsets have over our emotions. Let’s say you’re heading towards your perfect vacation dream destination. You may start to worry about your future career or an embarrassing situation from the past. No matter where you are, you keep thinking about the regrets you have and the mistakes you’ve made. Stop! By focussing on the negativity in your life you are able to completely change your mood for the worse in a matter of minutes. Recognizing these bad habits we do makes it much easier to stop this unhealthy cycle of pulling ourselves out of the present. To be happy we must realize, “Every moment wasted looking back, keeps us from moving forward,” (Hillary Rodham Clinton). We can use this knowledge to our advantage in daily life and influence our path to happiness.
In order to gain true happiness it is not only imperative to live in the present, but to also live by our own internal constitutions. This means we must live by the system of fundamental principles according to our own morals instead of the labels of nations, states, or corporations. Government officials or politicians may say this is a dangerous concept because if everyone followed their own principles they may no longer obey the law. However, it was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who said in his infamous “I have a dream speech” that “An unjust law is no law at all.”  To illustrate this concept we can recall to our beloved historical rebel Rosa Parks. Her arrest record famously goes as follows “We received a call upon arrival the bus operator said he had a colored female sitting in the white section of the bus, and would not move back,” (Bredhoff). This action is accredited by almost every United States history textbook to be the spark that lit the fire that was the civil rights movement. She not only represents defiance of the government, but the idea that following your personal morals and principles, even when against the law, can bring the greatest joy of all, freedom. This matters because it emphasizes how following your internal constitution will lead you to true happiness.
You may be thinking now: why doesn’t everyone follow this path to happiness? The answer is, society has conditioned us to grow up feeling scared of being misunderstood. On the other hand, we are taught that our nationally recognized historical figures were usually the most influential and radical people of their time. As Transcendentalist author Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed out in his influential work Self Reliance, “Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo,” (Self Reliance, 25). It seems the more we go against the grain, like Galileo, whose revolutionary books were banned and caused him to be tried by the Inquisition, the more we stand out and are later remembered. It is the people who don’t let the fear of being misunderstood get in their way of following their internal constitution and make history.  

Furthermore, we must not let our worries of being misunderstood get in the way of our happiness. Oppressed or bullied people may feel that being misunderstood can be a horrible experience, however, we can choose to see this alienation in a positive light and use the energy to further our wishes and desires. For example, many people, including myself, identify as feminists. This is often a hard label to live by, even in the Bay Area, yet I still proudly declare myself one because it makes me happy to live by my own constitution, or morals. In this case I choose to see people’s denial or misunderstanding as the need for progress in this particular movement. This is a critical inspirational way of looking at such push-back and gaining the motivation to stick for such principles.

Lastly, our alignment between our inner selves, the mind and soul, and our outer selves, our actions and environment, is the basis of contentment in our lives. It is only once we allow ourselves to individually live in the present by our internal constitutions that we will finally gain this harmony and be on the path to true happiness. It is now up to you. Do you plan on living a life of fear, or will you allow yourself to finally reach peace of mind?