„The foundation of happiness is the love of truth in the intellect, th…”
„The foundation of happiness is the love of truth in the intellect, the love of uprightness in life, the love of beauty in emotion, and the love of good in action. And in all these values, each person builds for himself truth, uprightness, beauty, and good according to his own measure.”From Orot HaKodesh, I, 72
So how does one attain joy? Love life! One must focus on the good, and consequently one feels good. The foundation of happiness is the aspiration to truth, the pursuit of justice, wonder at the beauty of creation, and a positive outlook on one's surroundings and on the deeds of human beings.
We set for ourselves our own scale of values and our own scale of happiness; if we decide to look upon ourselves and our surroundings in a positive manner, the world will show us a shining face.
In my humble opinion, the Rav raises the matter of uprightness and truth as if to say that this is not opposed to truth; on the contrary, a positive view of reality is the truth. The pursuit of truth, when done from a loving heart, will not fill a person with frustration but with an aspiration to advance and to advance the world from a positive place.
A pleasant and joyous day to all!
From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.