Why does a bird sing? I suppose you could say the miniaturized computer in its genes and brain evolved the need to sing for a mate, or to stake out its territory, or to warn competitors away, but the bird today isn’t thinking about any of that, it is just singing. Singing perhaps because it is programmed to sing, but I wonder why it is singing a pleasant melody? If it is just to do one of the above why not some discordant collection of tones? Does a mate like melodious songs better? Why? Does the bird enjoy it’s own songs? What if there is no particular reason why it sings. It just does. Is that possible at least some of the time?
Why does a rose bloom? Not because it needs to. I watched a bee land on a rose outside my window today only to discover the flower didn’t offer anything, so it flew off. The rose outside my window is a hybridized rose that is pretty but has no fragrance. I never see bees or butterflies on it other than the one just mentioned who apparently landed there by mistake. This rose does give me enjoyment looking at it. So perhaps the only purpose of this rose was that it was created by the person who hybridized it to be as it is. The rose doesn’t flower to create another rose. It flowers simply to be beautiful and to be enjoyed. It probably wouldn’t even exist if there were not someone to appreciate and enjoy it.
Happiness is like that. It partly derives from a decision not to be unhappy. Happiness is a state of being. It is not based on something else. It is not because of something else. It simply is because it is. That is the secret of happiness.
