Education is Freedom
Paulo Friere
The Courage To Be Disliked: How to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness
Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
“On the outskirts of the thousand-year-old city lived a philosopher who taught that the world was simple and that happiness was within the reach of every man, instantly. A young man who was dissatisfied with life went to visit this philosopher to get to the heart of the matter. This youth found the world a chaotic mass of contradictions and, in his anxious eyes, any notion of happiness was completely absurd.”
What does it truly mean to be happy? Happiness is something we all desire when asked, but how do we really attain it? Is it something that we actively seek or pursue, or is it a state of mind that lies hidden within?
This engaging and insightful exchange between a philosopher and a troubled youth pulls at the threads of this questions and unravels our misconceptions. According to Alderian psychology, happiness arises through an understanding of the self. Like a sculptor who chips and carves away stone to reveal a hidden beauty of infinite potential, so our inate state of happiness is obscured to us through the programming or “education” we receive about the world throughout our lives. The societal expectations that hijack us, the desire to “fit in” rather than be our genuine, glorious selves. The stifling of our unique expression of thought so that we do not risk “offending” anyone. These are the barriers of the mind that have been erected by others yet fortified by ourselves, restraining who we really are and limiting our potential. And by continuing to participate in this charade and lying to ourselves we will forever bury the light of happiness that shines from within.
As you delve deeper into the conversation in these pages you can expect many seeds of wisdom to be planted in your consciousness:
Define yourself for yourself.
Understand and control your emotions.
Do not live to satisfy the expectations of others, but build and treasure your community.
Protect and value the essence of who you truly are and in doing so, have the courage to be disliked.
The inescapable lesson painted throughout this exchange is that a life of fulfillment is ultimately a life of courage.