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Thomas Jefferson, in 1776, wrote in the Declaration of Independence "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Powerful words that have stirred people to action around the world for centuries. As I pondered the last third of my life and upcoming retirement I thought most about the phrase "pursuit of Happiness". What did Jefferson mean?
In 1732 Alexander Pope published An Essay on Man. Pope's poem is a worldview that addresses happiness in the Fourth Epistle or section. According to Pope, happiness is the aim or end for which people live and die for. It is free and available to everyone. Wealth, talent, status, or possessions do not guarantee happiness. Sometimes they even work against attaining happiness. Pope believed that happiness was a gift from God to his children and could be attained by practicing virtue. Thomas Jefferson, a learned man, likely created his "pursuit of happiness" phrase from Alexander Pope's essay.
Ibelieve that in America the "pursuit of happiness" can be undertaken by anyone at any time. For me, it requires a positive attitude, the ability to dream, to set goals, and personal discipline to steadily work towards them. It is my experience that happiness is best understood by reflection. Thus a happy life should be most apparent at the very end of life. Happiness should not be confused with pleasure; the two are related but pleasure does not guarantee happiness. Rather pleasure is often derived from happiness.
Pope's essay is cited by The Oxford English Dictionary in definition two of happiness: "The state of pleasurable content of mind, which results from success or the attainment of what is considered good." Pope argued that the attainment of happiness came from the practice of virtue. It was a gift from God that was given equally to all people regardless of their status or wealth. Like Life and Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness was an "unalienable Right". Jefferson realized that for centuries the mighty stole God's gifts to his children. He hoped to form a government that would forever enshrine and protect God's gifts by weaving them into the founding legal documents of a new nation.
Aristotle believed that happiness was man's strongest desire which involved the activity of the soul by virtue or excellence. (Nicomachean Ethics I. v)
I came to the preliminary conclusion that a virtuous life of accomplishment was most likely to result in happiness. So what did I need to do to ensure that the rest of my life was well-lived? How would I know what was virtuous?
At first contemplation, I traveled back to a time in my life that was full of happiness; the decade between 1969 and 1979. I entered 9th grade in 1969 and started my first year of college in 1979. I was fortunate that I had a full decade to explore the world around me before I was committed to a fixed schedule of work and study. I had the freedom to live each day as it unfolded. My basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter were provided by my parents. I earned money by working odd jobs. I lived frugally but experienced life richly. For better or worse my parents allowed me to make my own decisions. I lived with the consequences and learned from them. From 1969 to 1979 I accomplished much. I:
1) Traveled over 100,000 miles via my "educated thumb" visiting 47 of the 50 states including Alaska and all of the provinces in Canada except for Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories.
2) With the help of friends and by hand, I built a log cabin in the Supply Pond woods of Branford. I lived there from 1973 to 1983 when vandals burned it down.
3) Picked up the habit of backpacking and camping. I walked for days over many New England mountains camping wherever I ended up at night. Some trips were with friends but most were solo.
4) Paddled down the Connecticut River from Pittsburgh, New Hampshire to Hartford, Connecticut. 350 miles and 21 days. Later I finished the leg from Hartford to Old Saybrook and then along Long Island Sound to my home in Branford, Connecticut.
All of the above journeys started with a single step. I hitchhiked locally at first. Then I thumbed to Washington DC for May Day in 1971. That summer I traveled by hitching to Pompano Beach in Florida. The next summer I thumbed to Yellowstone National Park!
My cabin grew from a small shelter that had its roots in a backyard treehouse. Short hikes grew to week-long camping trips and a three-week voyage down the Connecticut River.
By 1979 I matured enough so I was ready for college. I wrote a college entrance essay about my Connecticut River journey and a few hitchhiking trips. Much to my surprise, I was accepted at Wesleyan University in Middleton, Connecticut, and given an all-expenses-paid scholarship.
The period from 1969 to 1979 was a formative decade and in retrospect, filled with happiness. So naturally, I wanted to understand that period in my life better as I explored the Pursuit of Happiness that Jefferson wrote about. In May of 2021, I decided to once again paddle down the Connecticut River. I would start in September 2021 and paddle until I reached Old Saybrook. I gave myself a month to finish. I will cover that journey and other accomplishments in the following Pursuit of Happiness section. My goal is to achieve a fuller understanding of Thomas Jefferson's phrase "pursuit of happiness" by exploring the four major accomplishments listed above. I chose to retry the Connecticut river journey first because it was the easiest to initially complete and included part of number three; camping.
Whether my accomplishments were virtuous or not will be left for you to judge. In the early 21st century virtue is rapidly being redefined by political forces. The standards change frequently. My ideas of virtue are classical and align with Aristotle.
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Tim's Life Main Table of Contents |
Pursuit of Happiness - A Continuing Journey Table of Contents |
Page 2 Paddling Down the Connecticut River |
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