Much of what is known about Cuba, a tiny Caribbean island off the coast of Miami, is through its international relations with The United States. In fact, the history of Cuba has been chipped and shaped - like pebbles worn away by ocean waves - by forces outside of the country. Today, Cuba is known for a handful of things: communism, cigars, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, rum and of course its unique afro-spanish-jazz rhythms that swim through its cobbled-stone streets. On my recent trip to Cuba before the international lockdown to flatten the curve of COVID-19, however, I learnt something about the country through its people, and the sheer life pulsating off its dilapidated yet colourful baroque buildings that no tourist guide or history book could’ve told me.
I learnt about the art of happiness and how it’s seemingly embedded in Cuban culture right alongside the revolution, Cuban pizzas, coconut pastels, standing in line for chicken, and dancing at the drop of a beat.
Greek philosopher Aristotle had concluded that human life is dedicated to achieving happiness. The process includes realising your potential and engaging your virtues to not just be happy but be content. The word he used to describe the purpose of life was ‘eudemonia’, loosely translated to contentment in English. Happiness, according to Aristotle, wasn’t something that could be left only to chance. How many pieces of art would Salvador Dali have produced, or poems Maya Angelou written if they had left themselves only to inspiration. Like art is produced through everyday hard work and deliberation, so is happiness, said Aristotle, making it an activity and not just a state of mind.
