長文3題と英作文問題が課されたうちの、最初の問題文です。月曜日と金曜日に解説を記して參ります。
What exactly is happiness? We all want it. We all strive for it. Even the Dalai Lama has said: “The very purpose of life is to seek happiness.” But what exactly is it?
The word “happiness” has two very different meanings. The common meaning of the word is “feeling good.” In other words, feeling a sense of pleasure, gladness, or gratification. We all enjoy these feelings, so it’s no surprise that we chase them. However, like all human emotions, feelings of happiness don’t last. No matter how hard we try to hold on to them, they slip away every time. And a life spent in pursuit of those good feelings is, in the long term, deeply unsatisfying. In fact, the harder we chase after pleasurable feelings, the more we are likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.
The other far less common meaning of happiness is “living a rich, full, and meaningful life.” When we take action on the things that truly matter deep in our hearts, move in directions that we consider valuable and worthy, clarify what we stand for in life and act accordingly, then our lives become rich and full and meaningful, and we experience a powerful sense of vitality. This is not some passing feeling – it is a profound sense of a life well lived. And although such a life will undoubtedly give us many pleasurable feelings, it will also give us uncomfortable ones, such as sadness, fear, and anger. This is only to be expected. If we live a full life, we will feel the full range of human emotions. 【265 words】
(Adapted from Russ Harris, The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living, 2008)
