The Art of Happiness

has improved for many in Western society. It isat this point that a critical shift in perception takesplace ; as suffering becomes less visible, it is nolonger seen as part of the fundamental nature ofhuman beings—but rather as an anomaly, a signthat something has gone terribly wrong, a sign of“failure” of some system, an infringement on ourguaranteed right to happiness!This kind of thinking poses hidden dangers. Ifwe think of suffering as something unnatural,something that we shouldn’t be experiencing,then it’s not much of a leap to begin to look forsomeone to blame for our suffering. If I’munhappy, then I must be the “victim” of someoneor something—an idea that’s all to common inthe West. The victimizer may be the government,the educational system, abusive parents, a“dysfunctional family,” the other gender, or our