Happiness: Do you really know what it means?

Happiness: Do you really understand what it means?

I was recently asked if I am a happy person and my answer was, yes, I am. But then I actually sat down and thought about it. What is happiness really? Oh, there are myriads of definitions out there on what happiness is and people have agonized over it for ages, but in my reminiscence I have concluded, for me at least, what happiness is not.

Feeling good all the time, doesn’t mean you’re happy. For the balance of physics says what goes up must come down, right? Lol…so, if someone asks you if you’re happy, you don’t think of the mood you’re in, your thoughts run along the lines of what makes your live meaningful, you love your job or the relationship you’re in.

Are you happy because you have a lot of money and can afford anything your heart desire? Hmm…certainly having money makes life easier, but at some point even all the money in the world won’t be enough, because don’t we life within our means and the more we have the more we spend? So eventually you’ll feel the same as you did when you had less money.

And so I can go on for days about what happiness is not. So, I ask again, what is happiness?

Great philosophers, religious leaders, writers and thinkers throughout human history have asked themselves this basic question. While every one of us have our own definition of happiness, each touches on a similar cord that we must all come to realize. The quest for true happiness is not really a quest at all, but a decision and a choice.

In my view, happiness is a state of mind. A balance you find within yourself with your life, your surroundings, your inner self and your emotions. And yes, it does go up and down. We need to experience fluctuation in even happiness to really understand when we’re truly happy.

Am I a happy person as I sit here, today? Oh, yes, I most definitely am!