What is definition of 'happiness?' Is it material wealth filled with fancy cars, a dream house, extravagant furs and jewelry? Or is happiness simply having a roof over your head? Food in fridge? Having a child? A pet? A swimming pool? A designer Gucci bag? Parents? Grandchildren? Love? Money? The perfect job? Winning Lottery? According to American HeritageŽ Dictionary, 'happiness' is derived from Middle English word hap - meaning 'Luck.' But does happiness really have anything to do with 'luck?' Based on this description, one could assume that if you avoided a fatal traffic accident but got fired by coming late to work, you would be filled with 'happiness?' Is it luck or what you make of it? Maybe, 'happiness' is exactly defined by its indirect alias: happ iness - perhaps, happiness is in fact defined by fortune that we permit to happen.
Do you recall a time....ah, let's say when you were about 5 years old - what defined happiness back then? Was it getting a puppy for Christmas? Or maybe, you were a child of divorce; and all you wanted was for Mom and Dad to get back together again? Then as you got older, you were hoping that someone would ask you to prom...that would've made your day, maybe your life...for moment. During college, good grades made you happy, but it was short-lived. Because in real world, you had to look for a job, and competition was stark. It's an employer's world....you thought. But then, you got perfect job - now you could be happy - or could you?
Life requires more than just what we want. Inevitably, one must understand to truly find 'happiness,' he must make his own happiness 'happen.' Sounds a bit redundant, but truthfully, there is no set guidelines that will bring one happiness. There is no 'magic wand' we can wave to bring joy into our lives. Human nature thrives on thrill of chase. We dream and we hope for next big break - it is grand adventure of living.
We are hopeless creatures of comfort. We like having and accumulating things. Whether one admits to it or not, to a certain degree, we all try to keep up with 'the Jones.' We work so we can pay our rents, mortgages, credit card debts, school loans, car payments...the list goes on and on. And at some point, we realize, that aside from having most of what we want, we still aren't happy. Now since we've learned to adapt to new standards which we've created for ourselves, we find that we have less time, less patience, less sleep, which equates to more stress, more worry and more aggrivation. So, is happiness honestly just comprised of 'things?'
Sometimes, we virtually trade our lives for not only basic necessities, but for excessive items and services as well. We become so obcessed with finding happiness, that we lose sight of fact that happiness is within - always. Certainly you've heard of individuals trying to 'find themselves,' or 'rediscover themselves...' The reason they are attempting these innovative approaches is because they are seeking inner happiness. But point has been missed: Happiness is already there.