Hardy

Lonnie Hardy
Professor Lloyd
English 102
Essay 1
Happiness is, has been, and will always beThe Grand Illusion
I am not one of those people who see darkness in what the world has become, and
certainly like to look to find the best in all people. As I researched Happiness and whether the
issue merited any sort of real discussion I found myself pulled into a maelstrom of confused
thought, ideas, and scientific theory I find simply odd. The result from the world view of things
for happiness has created a search which for many will never be found. My favorite illustration
for this delusion was well stated by Dennis DeYoung in the iconic musical track, The Grand
Illusion. In the last verse he wrote, America spells competition, join us in our blind ambition,
get yourself a brand new motor car. Someday soon we'll stop to ponder what on Earths this spell
we're under, we made the grade and still we wonder who the hell we are Happiness does not
come from external things, but from within as we recognize personal satisfaction in what we
have.
Still we wonder who the hell we are. This is the Grand Illusion, and as is most often the
case, we as Americans tend to drive ourselves to the point of dissatisfaction. Rather than finding
ways to be satisfied in life, we constantly search for more and better things. It is this search for
material things which drives our illusory happiness and constant battle with depressive valleys.
This truth has never been more apparent than in a situation a friend recently found himself in.
My friend, RJ purchased a brand new motor car. It was a truck actually, and this
thing is really great. The lift kit alone was impressive, the wheels manly in their presence, nearly
menacing. The paint job gleamed midnight blue darkness, like a black hole ready to suck more

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puny transport and their occupants to some sort of chromic doom. In a word, awesome! My pal
loved his truck for all of about three days. Then a new reality hit when he realized it got about
twelve miles to the gallon, and a drive to Twin Falls would result in a significant drain on now
more meager resources. Not to mention the need to make payments, plus the costs for upkeep
and insurance. RJ thought his shiny new truck would bring him the happiness he has long
sought. As I have watched him over the past several weeks, I see now a perfect example of the
Grand Illusion.
Taking the time to ponder happiness, and my buddys truck purchase, I had cause to
wonder how wealth and myriad choices impacted on the masses and was pleasantly surprised to
note my ideas were not too far off the mark. I theorize the concept of finding happiness in
material things or through others is certainly flawed. By days end personal happiness comes
from within as we recognize our level of inner peace, security, and sense of self-worth.
As a way to illustrate the problem with choices, I liked what Jon Gertner had to say in his
article, The Futile Pursuit of Happiness: we falter when it comes to imagining how we will
feel about something in the future. I must heartily agree as nearly all people I know believe
wealth or material items; even the right person in their lives will make them happy. The
imagination runs rabid with fantasy of all the happiness coming their way if they only had the
right car, or house, job, or spouse/significant other. In nearly all cases I have personally observed
people euphorically diving into the newness of a concept, event, or relationship; and within just a
few days to a few months have disclosed a now muted feeling toward the situation. None of the
external aspects bring happiness.
I also chose to use Gertners ideas, not because he is a Harvard scholar, but because his
concepts resonate truth in everyday life. His study shows we all have the ability to choose, the

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problem however is we simply do not think our choices through. The result is disappointment in
the lingering intensity of what we thought would happen. I am not saying this was some sort of
epiphany for me, but it was a resounding confidence vote for something I felt intuitively was
true.
As I continued my search to find where happiness is found, I wanted a more broad view
and found Rajiv Vij. He is life coach, writer, and wellness guru. A statement he made in his
personal blog from September 2011 has been appropriate for this work. One fish said to the
other, Do you believe in this ocean that they talk about? So goes an ancient Chinese saying
and I think it well illustrates how narrow our vision of the world and the universe can be. We see
the world from our limited perceptual framework. Despite an overwhelming evolution of the
human race, the human mind is severely restricted by what it can perceive through the senses
(Vij.)
Seeking happiness is not a new journey for me, and just as likely my sojourn is not so
different from many others. I have struggled in my life, and dealt often with the intense let down
things have provided, or rather failed to provide. I thought I had it made, top of the list in my
service career. Great family, super retirement, nice car, a nice home in the Colorado Springs
Suburbs. I thought it was the things in life that would make me happy. I truly believed if I had a
better relationship, more money, the ability to entertain when I wanted, etc., I could find the
happiness I wanted and deserved. It took a long time for me to realize nothing external to me
would ever provide what I so much desired.
When I read the blog Vij had written on his idea of the Grand Illusion, I was convinced I
had found my answer to the issue of this essay. All this had to do with the narrow view of my
life and what I thought was important. I was so totally focused on things, I could not see the

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beauty surrounding my life. Here I lived at the base of the Rocky Mountains and I could not see
beauty. One day it all changed when I found myself unable to look upon the autumn colors as
they raced across the mountain sides. My world view turned.
I liked what Vij had to say I was convinced personally, but needed something more. Then
I felt my thesis was proved by a lady from Nigeria. Our lives, our cultures, are composed of
many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her
authentic cultural voice and warns, If we hear only a single story about another person or
country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. Here we have an example of what we see
happiness as being. Ms. Adichie, tells us to be careful of what we hear and so then learn. We so
very often believe happiness comes as result of what others have. When in truth we find sadness
and misery as we endeavor to emulate the happiness of others (Adichie.)
Wow, Ms. Adichie was spot on, and I found proof again, happiness is an imagined
concept of things pushed upon us from every point on the compass. I can see through my minds
eye; people sitting back this very moment and wondering if it is true. Of course it is! Did that
new car bring you happiness? Did the white picket fence fantasy find its way out of the depths of
your dream to urban reality? How is that job working out? Many of us trade 40+ hours for just
enough money to afford the mortgage and a couple beers with the boys or girls on bowling night.
We have fallen completely for the one story concept and the perception of world view happiness.
The question as I now see it is, how do we overcome our one story view of happiness? In
a summarization of comments made by Chimamanda Adichie during a TED.com speech, July
2009, Oxford, UK, we learn, the danger in the single story is our inability to see the rest of the
world for what it truly is. Our world view is skewed by seeing one view in media, from family,

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teachers, religion, and a plethora of other ideas. We must open our eyes and see the magnificence
of the world and what is before each of us.
Every day we see happiness; every day we awake filled with something that drives us to
find the waking dream. We look out and try to find what for many is the unfindable. What will it
take? What will it take to realize the happiness we so desperately seek? Things are not the
answer. People are not the answer. Work is not the answer. Can we take the moment needed to
stop, then look within ourselves to the very depths of our being and there find the seed of
happiness hidden in us all? Happiness will come from within as we recognize personal
satisfaction in what we have, and learn just exactly who the hell we are

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Works Cited
Adichie, Chimamanda. The Danger of a Single Story: Chimamanda Adichie. TEDBlog.
TED Ideas worth spreadingOr Challenging. TED Conferences, LLC, July 2009, Web. 15
September 2014.
DeYoung, Dennis. The Grand Illusion. Album track one of The Grand Illusion, Styx, A&M
Records, 1977. Web. 15 Sept. 2014
Gertner, Jon. The Futile Pursuit of Happiness. The New York Times Magazine. The New York
Times Company, 7 Sept. 2003. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
Vij, Rajiv. The Grand Illusion. Personal Alchemy Blog. Word Press, Sept 2011. Web. 15 Sept
2014
Scoring Rubric*
A

Score

Focus

Excellen
t

Good

Adequat
e

Poor

Lacking

Content

Excellen
t

Good

Adequat
e

Poor

Lacking

Organizati
on

Excellen
t

Good

Adequat
e

Poor

Lacking

Style

Excellen
t

Good

Adequat
e

Poor

Lacking

Conventio
ns

Excellen
t

Good

Adequat
e

Poor

Lacking

Average
*Adapted from the Pennsylvania System of School
Assessment

Grade

93%
A

Great essay, Lonnie. I was a little thrown off at the beginning of your essay. I understood your
reference to the grand illusion, but your final line might be a clearer thesis that could be used

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after your intro. There are some minor changes that need to be made to your citations of outside
sources: they need quotes instead of italics.