We Live on Purpose

I am woken at 5:45 a.m. I school starts at 7:06 a.m. School ends at 2:05 p.m. I do extracurricular activities. I go to sleep after homework by 9:30 p.m. on good days. I dream. I am woken at 5:45 a.m. Am I happy? I’m certain of my lack of sadness, but does that guarantee my joy? I don’t think so. I feel as if my life were flashing before my eyes (in slow motion, of course) and I am not even dying yet. Life is living me. I go with the flow. Is this life? Or is life true joy? If this were true, and I go on as is, I will die without ever living. What is the purpose of living this way, or any other way, for that matter. Do we have the choice to live happily or not to live happily? How hard are trying to truly live with joy? Is the pursuit of happiness eternal? Will we ever be able to achieve our goal of living?

I believe we will only be happy if we change our definition of happiness as a society. According to the King of Eldorado, whose Hinduist philosophy is generously shared, “a man should be satisfied with what works moderately well” (83). My life works moderately well, hence, I am satisfied. Yet, have I found true happiness? I believe that according to Voltaire’s teachings, we must be satisfied with the external to find joy in the internal. We should be gratified and indifferent with the spoils of the material to focus the search of peace within. We shall never achieve tranquility if we are focused on finding happiness in the wrong place. The material luxuries’ sole purpose is to ease the meditation process, so as to not concern oneself with the needs of the body. This is why we must be content with what works, not what we want, because, ultimately, what works is all that matters. We see that the happiness of the people of Eldorado has nothing to do with their gold or precious stones. They are happy because they have found joy within themselves and gratitude with what they have: “We never pray…we have nothing to ask of God, since he has given us everything we need. But we thank him unceasingly” (79). Here we see that something that works is the greatest luxury. We must remember and acknowledge this when we ask God for more. Do we want more, or do we need more?

In his conclusion, Voltaire reveals his work’s raison d’être: The journey is the destination. In the very last paragraph of Candide’s experiences, the writer, through the enduring optimism of Dr. Pangloss’s philosophy, explains how “there is a chain of events in this best of all possible worlds; for if you had not been turned out of a beautiful mansion at the point of a jackboot for the love of lady Cunégonde, and if you had not been involved in the Inquisition, and had not wandered over America on foot, and had not struck the Baron with your sword, and lost all those sheep you brought from Eldorado, you would not be here eating candied fruit and pistachio nuts” (144). In this maxim, the purpose of life is explained: We go through much, but our experiences are for the best if we learn from them. If not, then they will occur pointlessly.

However, why does Candide claim “we must go and work in the garden” (144), where we, as Adam and Eve had to do, must work for our survival and happiness? If we don’t work to survive and be happy, what is the true purpose of life. If we achieve joy, what then? Will life go on pointlessly, or will the existence of true bliss in our lives eliminate the need for an objective? The people of Eldorado don’t seem to have much of a purpose, but they don’t feel the need for one either. In that case, life’s purpose is to be happy until one doesn’t have the need to have an objective any longer.