Joseph Campbell and the Pursuit of the Happiness

The US Army Field Manual outlines Nine Principles of Modern Military Strategy. Of these, the most important principle is to, “Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective.” What constitutes victory? What constitutes defeat? At what point can we stop fighting and move on? Without a clear objective all military action, no matter how well executed is unlikely to succeed.

The lack of a clear, decisive objective is often sited as one of the principal reasons for our failure to achieve victory in Vietnam, despite the fact that we won almost every major battle and inflicted terrible damage on the enemy. In fact, many historians believe that no amount of military might (short of total annihilation through Nuclear attack) would have been sufficient to win a war under those circumstances. There are those who believe we are in the same dilemma today.

However, the concept of objective is not simply a military consideration. Businesses outline their goals in detailed plans to guide employees and inform their stockholders. Non-Profits publish carefully worded mission statements to focus their actions and garner support. Organizations, which can clearly and simply communicate their vision, are far more likely to succeed than those who cannot.

But often, in our own lives, we simply react to the situations we are presented with. We make our decisions, on career, family, friends, and future, based not on an overall strategy but on the expediency of the moment. Opportunities are missed. Old wounds are allowed to deepen and fester. Relationships weaken and finally break. Time passes us by.

And the objective of life? The purpose which guides our days on earth? Is it the accumulation of possessions? Love? The service of community or a higher power? How can we hope to succeed in our lives if we don’t know what success is?

But defining success in life is not easy. We all look at our lives in very different ways. We seek different goals, face different obstacles and enjoy different pastimes. Success for a corporate raider bares little resemblance to success for an environmental activist. In fact, the way we think about the word success itself is as dependent on our cultural bias, and family background as it is on any rational analyses.

But I believe there is a goal, a purpose which, seen clearly, can guide our choices through the dark maze of our lives and when ignored brings pain and destruction not only to ourselves, but to those we care about the most.

Many people don’t know this, but the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence did not originate with Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson merely took his place as part of a long tradition of philosophical thought. In fact, one of his most famous statements is an almost direct quote from the 17th century British Philosopher, John Locke. The only difference is that where Locke, defined our unalienable rights as “Life, Liberty and Property” Jefferson defined them as “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Notice that Jefferson makes no reference to religious freedom or free expression. There is no discussion of privacy or the right of habeas corpus. Instead, he gives us three unalienable rights which, seem to me, to be an incredibly powerful guide to the purpose of life in a free society.

Life is our state being. Liberty (a rational component of any free society) is the means through which we achieve our goals and happiness is the goal itself.

Think about that for a moment. Is it possible that the purpose of our lives on earth is nothing more and nothing less than happiness?

Some might argue that that’s a pretty lame purpose. It’s too selfish, too vain. Making happiness the goal of life would lead to a society so self absorbed that it would consume itself in greed and consumption. But those people are confusing the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of pleasure.

A heroin addict feels tremendous pleasure as his drug of choice caresses every nerve and sooths every anxiety but one would be hard pressed to describe her as happy. A chronic shopper on a spree at the mall can empty his wallet on the latest fashions or gadgets and come home more depressed than ever. Millions of people flock to Las Vegas seeking pleasure and few, if any, find happiness.

What we are talking about here is something stronger, deeper. Something that goes beyond the excitement of the moment and penetrates into the heart of our lives on this planet.

What makes you happy, deeply, lastingly happy? It’s an incredibly important question and one which few of us really take the time to consider.

Maybe even the word, “happy” isn’t enough.Joeseph Campbell , the world-renowned expert on heroes and mythology, once said something so profound that it has found it’s way into our cultural lexicon. When asked what lesson we should take from all the spiritual journeys of all the heroes of mythology, he replied, “Follow your Bliss”.

You can’t buy bliss in a store. It’s not advertised on television or found at the end of some pseudo scientific “quick fix”. Bliss is something deeply personal and difficult to achieve. After all Campbell, like Jefferson does not require that we achieve this exalted state but merely that we follow it.

The wonderful thing about this idea is that it allows our corporate raider and environmental activist to pursue the same goal through vastly different means.

Bliss might be found beneath an icy stream deep in the mountains or in the thundering chaos of the crowded streets of New York.. It might be composed of solitude and personal exploration or in the deep intimacy of a long term romance It might focus on the raising of children or the caring for the elderly. Some might find bliss inside a microscope or looking out into the infinite mysteries of space. And, if we’re lucky, some people might even find lasting happiness building a society which can help others on their own journeys to bliss.

One could argue that all of the other rights we are so proud of in this country, all of the protections and freedoms guaranteed by our constitution flow from our right to pursue happiness as we see it. Expression, religion, assembly and privacy, are weapons against tyranny and the laws we live by are protections so that our pursuit of happiness does not interfere with someone else’s.

Poverty, oppression, racism, intolerance, violence, and despair are the enemies of bliss. They are the limiting factors of our cultural objectives and must be fought both individually and as a society.

However it is important to note that Thomas Jefferson in his wisdom does not guarantee happiness. No society can do that. The only thing we are guaranteed is the right to pursue it and perhaps, in the end, pursuit of happiness is the goal itself. The Journey is the destination.

After all, To achieve Nirvana is to be the Buddha, but to pursue Nirvana is to be fully human.