I
suppose that all the gifts mentioned are relative. For example "fame"
is to be known and highly regarded. In some measure, however modest,
this is something that I would wish for everyone. Likewise "wealth"
can mean simply having all of your needs met whether in regards to
food, clothing, shelter, or health needs – in short, to basically
be free of want so that your attention and energies can turn away
from the sheer struggle to survive. And finally "long life"
is a wish for longevity and for good health. So in this sense I would
wish all these for my best friend.
There
are more requirements for happiness. Principally these include
security, justice, mercy, a degree of love and intimacy, and
friendship itself.
But
true happiness also depends upon freedom! There are two chief areas
of freedom: 1) freedom to have an inquiring mind. That is, one is
free to roam the realm of ideas unshackled by any authority other
than by one's best judgment buttressed by facts and endorsed by
one's inner light ; 2) freedom from addictions – the major ones
traditionally sometimes described as the seven deadly sins (wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony).
Thus, true freedom necessitates the freedoms of thought and soul as
well as the other items mentioned. All these I would wish for my
best friend and for myself as well.
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