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When we think about happiness, I think people imagine the feeling that pleasure brings you, the uplifted mood, the quenching of some hunger, the relief that comes from being giving to yourself instead of denying yourself what it wants. Happiness is what occurs after one is done realizing the enriching flow of satisfaction, happiness lingers and is always there, its there when you are thinking more clearly because you got up out of bed, and made time for yourself to get some exercise, it is there when you have friends who genuinely love you for who you are, and it is especially there when being courageous leaves you stinging in the gut afterwards. You realize in these moments that happiness is continuous, the brighter path that one takes everyday because they did what was good, not only for themselves but for their loved ones, the ones they respect now and the ones they may never meet in the future, it is the effect of virtue. Happiness is waking up loving the fact that you are alive, it is all around respect for existence, and it pays off when you look around and see the world, dark as it may be, with cold people sleeping on the steps off of the street and cold people in the buildings as they lurch over them and shrug their shoulders. I imagine they live with that guilt, that realization, deep within themselves, it must be there, that they are somehow not living a life well lived. Happiness is the little things, its having the love of your life respect you, its also showing them that the world is not so lonely and hostile. But pleasure on the other hand is what tears us apart, it reaches into us like a spectre and becomes us, it is the addiction to happiness without the cause, the nihilistic notion that nothing else matters so we will be content, living shortly, briefly but without pause to consider what exactly does short term gain actually get us. canker sores, and loneliness, and beatings that are too many times done by ourselves, by that with is perceived as good and wholesome, the sheep in sheep's clothing that leaves one feeling alone, and vain and self destructive. A little bit of a rambling, I began writing and just let it flow, avoiding distraction. maybe happiness is rambling, on and on about the things you love and avoiding the distractions that tell you it cannot be so and that it is not worth it. ~Feel free to tell me what you think about what I wrote. If anything doesn't make sense, if you would care to expand of some of the concepts that you think I am getting at in this little description. By all means, expand upon this, someone else write a story about pleasure and happiness, a poem, a picture, (Philosophical) Quotes, anything really. I am interested very much so in the importance that this distinction has in living a good life. Is pleasure always bad? are there different types of pleasure? share some stories about how you became happier, share one of the happiest moments of your life...