Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity.

– Thich Nhat Hanh

In my pursuit of happiness, the first word that I came across was Ataraxia. Let’s explore what it means and how it contributes to the pursuit of happiness.

In a simple translation, the word Ataraxia means having a state of serene calmness. If we want to go deeper into the origin of these words, there may come the name Epicurus.

Epicurus was a Greek scientist and philosopher who had contributed the concept of being happy with the serenity of thoughts.

More precisely, the word Ataraxia tells us that if you can be free from all the unnecessary desires, and keep yourself away from the worries, you will attain happiness.

According to that famous philosopher, people are prone to seek worries in their daily lives. Therefore, if we can seek a state of being where we will see happiness as a means of an absence of pain; rather than being happy with pleasures in life, then we will have real happiness.

If people want to have all kinds of pleasures in their lives, there might be a possibility to lose happiness after a temporary period of being happy. Instead, if you can seek happiness with a detachment from every kind of pleasure, then there will be permanent happiness.

Ataraxia is a state of mental peace when the mind will dwell in a state of bliss, embracing a serene calmness. It will be completely undisturbed by any trouble or anxiety in life.

Therefore, if one person can attain a state of freedom from his emotional disturbance along with anxiety, he will attain a mental state where there will be tranquillity with an untroubled mind.

This serene state of calmness within where you are dwelling in peace of mind with freedom from worry is called Ataraxia.

How to practice Ataraxia:

If one person wants to practice Ataraxia in daily life, he can do it by practising any relaxing activity or having a moment of deep conversation with friends or oneself.

However, there are some easy ways to practice Ataraxia in daily life. These may include spending more time cultivating creative ideas, having a philosophical conversation with your friends or like-minded people, taking care of your mental health and doing some self-care activities etc.

Becoming more aware of your emotions is another beautiful way of practising Ataraxia. Emotions may cause you to have different states of mind. Therefore, if you can stay free from negative emotions and free of worry, it will bring happiness to your life.

This simple truth about the pursuit of happiness is told in the philosophy of Ataraxia.

I liked the idea of Ataraxia especially for embracing the serenity and calmness to start a new journey. For me, the beginning of the journey is the most important step and I prefer to do it with a calm mind.

What about you?

Will see you tomorrow with a new art of life. Till then, let’s have some deep breaths and inhale serenity.

( I am participating in the #BlogchatterA2Z. You can head over to Blogchatter to know more about this exciting blogging challenge and join the camaraderie! )