Happiness: Narratives From Dana and Chris The discussion in this paper provides two perspectives on the topic of happiness. Two interviews were conducted on two women, Dana, 33 years old, and Chris, 30 years old. The close proximity of their ages was deliberate, as the author-interviewer would like to have a good comparison of how the two women in their early 30s think about happiness in general, and based on what

Personal Strengths "O would some power the giftie gie us to see ourselves as others see us," wrote the Scottish poet Robert Burns. He meant it in a cautionary sense: We should govern ourselves so that if we were standing outside of ourselves watching our actions we would not shame ourselves. But a corollary to this is also true: We are not always aware of our own strengths. This paper examines

" And especially for young people, being "normal" and "cool" seems to be what self-esteem is all about. How can we risk giving that up by standing up for ourselves? How can we maintain a sense of self-worth in the eyes of the world, as well as in the eyes of God? And how do we know for sure what He wants for us? I guess it's a matter of intuition;

Happiness -- its true value and the right means of achieving it -- has been pondered by many people including Plato and Socrates, Stoics, church fathers and Aristotelians. Philosophers have had different arguments including that happiness is a matter of: faith, passion, reason, pleasure and/or contentment, mind and/or body. Some of them have also argued that happiness is a way of being or feeling. Who is happy? Who are the people who

In contrast, the stoic philosopher Epictetus focused upon changing one's mindset to accept the ways of the world, rather than striving to change the world to achieve happiness. Epictetus' tone is far different than Plato's. Rather than focusing upon changing the structure of society, in his Enchiridion the Stoic philosopher instead focused upon bending the mind to accept whatever life may bring. Epictetus would no doubt say to Plato that

happiness that goes beyond the mere absence of pain and suffering. People feel joy and happiness for things both minor and major. I would describe the absence of pain and suffering as contentment perhaps. The Buddhist would argue that the absence of those things leads to a state of permanent bliss, which is more powerful than transient happiness. However, the Buddhist view also assumes that the fleeting nature of