Happiness is…taking in all the wonders of life; its joys, its sorrows, its sunshine and the beautiful rainbow that follows the rain. Happiness involves learning from each enriching experience life throws your way. It also encourages you to share these experiences and your ever-increasing wisdom with those close to your heart as happiness is made to be shared. But a bar of chocolate does sometimes hit the spot too!
I was discussing "feelings" with a friend lately over a Coffee and we were talking about how great a feeling happiness is. I’m sure the feeling varies from person to person, but for me, when I feel happy, the feeling really does come from somewhere inside my stomach region. Sadness and anxiety usually manifest themselves in the same region at the appropriate times but obviously, the happiness feeling is easier to embrace. It’s glorious and as corny as it sounds, all I want to do is share that feeling with the people around me. It’s a bit like the feeling you get when you’re in love…it feels like lightning coursing through your veins and you feel truly alive. Although happiness, like waves at sea, comes and goes during our lifetimes, and naturally varies in its intensity, when we experience it, it’s essential to enjoy that feeling in the moment without worrying about losing it or holding on to it.
The everyday philosophy of life is fascinating and fortunately, most people have various opinions and advice to offer in terms of the most commonly discussed topics such as the meaning of happiness. I remember striking up a conversation with a Friend at a café. We somehow bypassed the usual small talk that strangers often dwell on and proceeded immediately to have a heart-to-heart on the subject of happiness. This man’s definition of happiness, although not entirely different from the various definitions construed by the rest of us mere mortals, has always stayed with me.In this man’s view happiness is a gift which we must give ourselves. It is a gift which costs nothing and it cannot be given to us by another as happiness comes from within. Once we bestow this gift upon ourselves, it stays with us forever—we may not always feel it or appreciate it but this precious gift remains close to the soul, the very essence of our being.
Intrigued, I felt compelled to ask some questions. ‘Dude, knowing the origins of happiness and where it can be found, can you explain to me what happiness is?’ ‘Yes’, he replied. First he explained, it is important to know what happiness is not. It does not come in the form of material things such as money, cars, clothes or anything else you can touch. Nor does happiness present itself as another person. Although happiness is made to be shared, only you can create it. Happiness manifests itself as a feeling or a state of being. You create happiness when your mind, body and soul are connected and when you, as a whole, are at one with the external world around you.
The next obvious question which he answered refers to how we achieve this inner peace and ‘oneness’ with the world and the people around us. To put it simply, in order to be at peace with yourself, you must be true to yourself. Being ‘true to yourself’ involves loving yourself and believing in your abilities and your dreams. It also necessitates that by believing in your dreams, you must make them a reality by following the emblazoned path you’re meant to forge for yourself in your lifetime. When you live the life your dreams and destiny implore you to live, then you are fulfilled and at peace with yourself. When you are at peace with yourself, this has a natural ripple effect and you are then at peace with everybody around you.Therefore, when a person is unhappy, either they haven’t yet begun to pursue their dreams or they have started to do so but they have encountered some difficulties along the way. The path of life is littered with challenges but although life’s twists and turns may sometimes seem physically and emotionally impassable, it’s when things seem hardest that you must persevere. As long as you remain true to yourself and your dreams, happiness will never elude you.
As my family and friends know, if my head wasn’t physically attached to my body, I’d have lost it long ago, alongside, socks [seriously, there has to be a sock vortex in every washing machine] and various other worldly possessions. Fortunately, once you’ve experienced happiness, you can never lose it. Sometimes, you just have to be patient and have faith in yourself. This l have learnt alongside from all the faliures and rejections that I had in my life which later became a stepping stone for my success!
‘Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony’
-Mahatma Gandhi
I was discussing "feelings" with a friend lately over a Coffee and we were talking about how great a feeling happiness is. I’m sure the feeling varies from person to person, but for me, when I feel happy, the feeling really does come from somewhere inside my stomach region. Sadness and anxiety usually manifest themselves in the same region at the appropriate times but obviously, the happiness feeling is easier to embrace. It’s glorious and as corny as it sounds, all I want to do is share that feeling with the people around me. It’s a bit like the feeling you get when you’re in love…it feels like lightning coursing through your veins and you feel truly alive. Although happiness, like waves at sea, comes and goes during our lifetimes, and naturally varies in its intensity, when we experience it, it’s essential to enjoy that feeling in the moment without worrying about losing it or holding on to it.
The everyday philosophy of life is fascinating and fortunately, most people have various opinions and advice to offer in terms of the most commonly discussed topics such as the meaning of happiness. I remember striking up a conversation with a Friend at a café. We somehow bypassed the usual small talk that strangers often dwell on and proceeded immediately to have a heart-to-heart on the subject of happiness. This man’s definition of happiness, although not entirely different from the various definitions construed by the rest of us mere mortals, has always stayed with me.In this man’s view happiness is a gift which we must give ourselves. It is a gift which costs nothing and it cannot be given to us by another as happiness comes from within. Once we bestow this gift upon ourselves, it stays with us forever—we may not always feel it or appreciate it but this precious gift remains close to the soul, the very essence of our being.
Intrigued, I felt compelled to ask some questions. ‘Dude, knowing the origins of happiness and where it can be found, can you explain to me what happiness is?’ ‘Yes’, he replied. First he explained, it is important to know what happiness is not. It does not come in the form of material things such as money, cars, clothes or anything else you can touch. Nor does happiness present itself as another person. Although happiness is made to be shared, only you can create it. Happiness manifests itself as a feeling or a state of being. You create happiness when your mind, body and soul are connected and when you, as a whole, are at one with the external world around you.
The next obvious question which he answered refers to how we achieve this inner peace and ‘oneness’ with the world and the people around us. To put it simply, in order to be at peace with yourself, you must be true to yourself. Being ‘true to yourself’ involves loving yourself and believing in your abilities and your dreams. It also necessitates that by believing in your dreams, you must make them a reality by following the emblazoned path you’re meant to forge for yourself in your lifetime. When you live the life your dreams and destiny implore you to live, then you are fulfilled and at peace with yourself. When you are at peace with yourself, this has a natural ripple effect and you are then at peace with everybody around you.Therefore, when a person is unhappy, either they haven’t yet begun to pursue their dreams or they have started to do so but they have encountered some difficulties along the way. The path of life is littered with challenges but although life’s twists and turns may sometimes seem physically and emotionally impassable, it’s when things seem hardest that you must persevere. As long as you remain true to yourself and your dreams, happiness will never elude you.
As my family and friends know, if my head wasn’t physically attached to my body, I’d have lost it long ago, alongside, socks [seriously, there has to be a sock vortex in every washing machine] and various other worldly possessions. Fortunately, once you’ve experienced happiness, you can never lose it. Sometimes, you just have to be patient and have faith in yourself. This l have learnt alongside from all the faliures and rejections that I had in my life which later became a stepping stone for my success!
‘Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony’
-Mahatma Gandhi
Well expressed!
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