What is love?
What is marriage?
What is happiness?
These are questions that have echoed through time. The Greek philosopher Plato once asked his teacher Socrates these very questions. The answers he received were not in the form of lectures or definitions, but through simple, thought-provoking experiences that revealed profound truths about life.
What Is Love?
When Plato asked, “What exactly is love?” Socrates didn’t reply with words. Instead, he told Plato to walk through a wheat field and pick the biggest, fullest ear of wheat he could find. There was only one rule: he could pick only once, and he couldn’t turn back.
Plato returned empty-handed.
“I saw some very large and golden ears of wheat,” he explained, “but I kept thinking that there might be an even better one ahead, so I didn’t pick any. As I walked further, none of the wheat looked as good as what I had already passed. In the end, I walked out with nothing.”
Socrates smiled and said, “That is love. We often think something better lies ahead, so we pass by the one who may have been most right for us. And when we finally realize it, it’s too late to turn back.”
What Is Marriage?
Next, Plato asked, “Then what is marriage?”
Socrates responded, “Walk through the forest and cut down the biggest, strongest tree to use as a Christmas tree. Remember—you may only choose once, and you cannot turn back.”
This time, Plato returned with a tree that wasn’t the tallest or thickest, but still sturdy and pleasing.
When Socrates asked why he had picked it, Plato said, “I remembered the lesson from the wheat field. When I saw this tree and thought it was good enough, I cut it down. I was afraid that if I kept looking, I’d again end up with nothing. It may not be the best, but it’s mine—and I’m content with it.”
Socrates nodded and said, “That is marriage. It may not be perfect, but it’s real, reliable, and something you can walk through life with.”
What Is Happiness?
Finally, Plato asked, “What is happiness?”
Socrates told him to walk through a meadow and pick the most beautiful flower he could find, again under the same rule: choose only once, and no turning back.
After some time, Plato returned with a lovely flower in his hand.
Socrates asked, “Is this the most beautiful flower you saw?”
Plato answered with certainty: “When I saw this flower, I felt it was the most beautiful, so I picked it. Even though I saw other beautiful flowers later, I didn’t regret my choice. I stayed firm in my decision. This one, to me, is the most beautiful.”
Socrates smiled and said, “That is happiness. When you choose to see something as your happiness and cherish it, happiness is already yours.”
Through these three simple parables, Plato came to understand love, marriage, and happiness—not as things to chase endlessly, but as choices to recognize, embrace, and be content with.
- Love is like the perfect ear of wheat you keep hoping to find ahead, only to realize—often too late—that what you passed by may have been the best match for you.
- Marriage is like the tree that may not be flawless, but stands strong with you through the everyday winds and storms of life.
- Happiness isn’t about always having the best. It’s about choosing something, valuing it, and finding contentment in it.
In a world driven by comparison, desire, and constant pursuit of “more,” true happiness arises when we stop looking outward and begin appreciating what we already have. When we make peace with our choices and nurture them with gratitude, we come to see: we already possess love, marriage, and happiness in their truest forms.
Peace LiLy 