What is happiness? Is it a succession of
self-gratification, or a summation of pleasant experiences?
Philosophy allows us to investigate what brings true happiness.
We cannot be truly happy if we do not face our own limitations
and surpass them.
Fear is one of these inner limitations that we must face in
order to be happy. If we have fear to open our heart, if we have
fear to make our dreams come true, if we are fearful about the
uncertain future, all the pleasures of the world would not bring
us true happiness. Rather, they are just distractions.
Philosophy helps us look into the nature of fear, e.g. fear of
failure and fear of the unknown. If we see that mistakes are not
failures, but rather opportunities to learn and to improve, and
that we all walk the path that is appropriate for us, there
would not be a sense of failure.
To be a philosopher is to be able to understand and overcome our
own fears, to be courageous, and to keep walking in spite of
fear. Without being overcome by fear, we can open our heart
love, to give, to make our dreams come true, in spite of
difficulties, and we can face uncertainty, taking each challenge
as an opportunity to learn and to blossom as a human being.
