Being alive means exercising conscious awareness – not waiting to die,
but living life for the sake of the journey – being in the moment to
learn, love, and pursue happiness as a reason for being here. And by 'happiness' I am referring to the quality of a whole human life including well-being, joy, and yes, the lessons learned from pain, without which there would be little appreciation of the good.
The Greek word for happiness is eudaimonia, but not in the "joy" sense as it is normally meant in modern times. Eudaimonia more accurately translates as flourishing or thriving; as suggested in Aristotle's description of happiness as "living well". Not that joy has no place in the scheme of happiness, hopefully there would be many instances of joy in a life lived in the pursuit of happiness.
Conversely, a doctrine that supports self-immolation (self-sacrifice) for the "greater good" is an immoral proponent of self-loathing, fear, and hatred. Anything purporting the renunciation of your own happiness as a an ethical value is a negation of real morality.
Happiness is the foundation on which joy, without penalty, or guilt may be achieved.
"A joy that does not clash with any of your values and does not work for your own destruction, not the joy of escaping from your mind, but of using your mind’s fullest power, not the joy of faking reality, but of achieving values that are real." ~ Ayn Rand.
The pursuit of happiness is something that you owe yourself, indeed, it is your highest moral purpose, because your ultimate and final responsibility on this planet is to your own life.
