I recently wrote a writing and posted it here about Epicurus’ plan for prudence to allow for a happy life and a pleasant life. If you want to learn about his Letter to Menoeceus go to the Epicurus category on the side and the other writing you will find there besides this one is that one.
The background to this website is Epicurus. His philosophy was that happiness is a choice. He went into great detail in explaining prudence, living blessedly, and self sufficiency as the processes to get to the happy life, but essentially, he viewed the coveted happy life as one that is achievable by any person (except for a few exceptions).
The header of this website I have is a painting by Darryn James Rae. It is not just a pretty picture it means something. Shay Carl, a popular vlogger on Youtube has 4 kids and a wife. Having found the below picture on the internet and having gotten a picture of his family in Rae’s beautiful impression he has on art.
This picture means something. Many blue balls around represent the people, you know them, the people who are all unhappy with everything that is going on in any circumstance. The yellow ball in the middle is that one person that that person choice for him/herself to be that is happy and chooses to be happy in most circumstances. This means if things aren’t going so well, or regardless of how well they are going at all (as long as horribly crucial crises aren’t going on) this person chooses to be happy. This positive attitude is one way to yield happiness. If you choose to smile and choose to have a positive attitude you will view aspects of your life positively and will be more happy as a result. Shay Carl, in his vlogs, saw this internet picture and asked Darryn James Rae to use his own art impression and signature to paint a wide array of blue unhappy people represented as balls, and one large yellow ball representing the one having chosen happiness.
The above is Darryn James Rae’s painting Shay Carl asked for. It hangs framed in Shay Carl’s office now. This is why Epicurus is my background and the above is my header. I think Shay Carl’s idea of happiness is a choice corresponds and coheres with Epicruean prudence and what it yields. Here is Rae’s website with many other great paintings. This and other of his paintings will go on my Aesthetic Thought page: http://www.raeart.page.tl/
The above is where Shay reveals his intentions for the painting and his Epicurean philosophy behind it, although he never mentions Epicurus.
The above, Shay tells some breathing exercises to feel better, and he gets the painting from Rae
The above he hangs up the painting and more.
The above is from his iPhone channel where he names the blue ball and the lower left of the painting Grumpy Gus.
The question now is, is happiness really a choice? Yes. For most people. If you do not have mental psychological disorders, happiness is a choice. If some horrible crises, deaths, losses or other horrible things happen to you , obviously you can’t just breath and be the yellow ball. These and other cases are the exception to happiness being a choice.
Besides all of these obvious exceptions, you can go from a pessimistic to an optimistic attitude quite quickly.
Deleuzeional Plane of Immanence 