Happiness: An Inferior Goal?

A few weeks later, I am still pondering a statement in Mary Gordon's essay "Flannery's Kiss", which I posted earlier on my blog. This section, namely:

Flannery O'Connor: orthodox, celibate, childless, living with her mother, devoted entirely to her art. To the perfection of a form. Unafraid to look at the darkness; unafraid to imagine that human happiness is an inferior question, an inferior goal. Flannery O'Connor: radically unseduced. How can I think of her and not think of myself as heavy with the things of this world: men, children, dogs, food, clothing, all the distractions of sexual allure? The demands of art ignored, pushed aside for the demands of what I call life. But what would she call it? Distraction? Illusion?

Unafraid to imagine that human happiness is an inferior question, an inferior goal.

I don't imagine that Flannery would have said this in her words, but did she say it with her life? It is an interesting question: is there more to life than being happy? If I were to venture into this question, this is what I might say:

It is obvious to any thinking man that every human being seeks happiness in everything he does. Is happiness, though, the end, or the means, of life? I'm tempted to compare it to hunger. Hunger is an appetite that is sated by eating food. Yet, is the feeling of fullness the purpose of this appetite? It seems to me that we experience the desire to eat, not for the feeling of satiety as an end, but as a means to the perfection of our bodies by nourishment. The perfection of the body, via nutrition, is the end of this appetite. The feeling of fullness is pleasurable as a means to entice us toward the perfection of our bodies.

If we look at happiness, then, as an appetite of the the spirit, happiness no longer appears as the purpose of life, but as a means to life's purpose. As hunger drives us to the perfection of our bodies, the desire to be happy drives us to the perfection of our existence. The perfection of our existence is to be true, beautiful, good, and one with God, Who is Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and One. The happiness that can only come from this perfection is what entices us towards it. It seems, then, that we should not say that we seek to be perfect so that we can be happy. Rather, we experience the relentless desire to be happy in order that we might reach perfection and not stop short of it.

Happiness, then, like feeling full from eating, is a side effect growing toward perfection and in its attainment. But, just as the body reaches perfection not only in nourishment, but also in the pain and stress of growing stronger, so our existence grows toward perfection not only by seeking happiness, but also by redemptive suffering.

It seems, then, that happiness, though we cannot help but seek it, is an inferior goal. It is a means toward our perfection. But, if the desire to be happy ever interferes with our growth toward perfection, because of being distorted by concupiscence, it must be subjected to violence, as God does when He permits suffering in this life that leads to perfection.