"...happiness matters ... suffering does not "
"You ask me about the meaning of the dialogue on page 702 of 'Atlas Shrugged', i.e.: "'We never had to take any of it seriously, did we?' she whispered. 'No, we never had to.'
"Let me begin by saying that this is perhaps the most important point in the whole book, because it is the condensed emotional summation, the keynote or leitmotif, of the view of life presented in 'Atlas Shrugged'. "What Dagny expresses here is the conviction that joy, exaltation, beauty, greatness, heroism, all the supreme, uplifting values of man's existence on earth, are the meaning of life—not the pain or ugliness he may encounter—that one must live for the sake of such exalted moments as one may be able to achieve or experience, not for the sake of suffering—that happiness matters, but suffering does not—that no matter how much pain one may have to endure, it is never to be taken seriously, that is: never to be taken as the essence and meaning of life—that the essence of life is the achievement of joy, not the escape from pain."~ Ayn Rand, in a letter to a fan, about her novel Atlas Shrugged [hat tip Secular Foxhole podcast]
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I certainly can’t argue against the meaning the author intended; but I take a slightly different, albeit probably inter-related profound meaning from that passage. It’s that you shouldn’t stress about, and don’t have to take too seriously events or the actions of others which you can’t control. Only take seriously (focus most on) things within your personal control. The actions of others are something that may affect you, just as bad weather, or even a natural disaster may affect you. But regard them both the same way - something to understand, avoid or navigate as best you can - but not dominate tour thoughts. What’s more important than the events or actions is your reaction to them - in particular not giving them more prominence in your mind than they deserve. It’s things within your personal control you should take most seriously.
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