What Makes Me Happy?
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”
~Ernest Hemingway
What does it even mean to be really happy?
I don't think there is a specific that is the universal truth for the ultimate definition of what Happiness really is.
Many thinkers have posited different arguments trying to make sense of what it really means to be happy, or happiness in itself what it really is.
According to some thinkers, happiness is associated with that pleasure we get when we acquire material possessions, while to others it is when we choose to cease looking on the outside but rather shift the focus to our inner selves only then can we grasp what it truly means to be happy.
A while back I had the association that happiness comes from material possessions and being successful according to societal metrics of success.
For a while I thought I was actually happy but deep down despite having the latest model of the latest iPhone and flashy clothes something about it all felt inauthentic. And it inherently felt like a never ending chase for something which felt like I was just about to grasp it but I kept on missing it.
What I was actually experiencing was pleasure from subscribing to the consumer culture, but with my limited understanding and know it all attitude I thought that is what it was to be actually happy.
Having demons always looming at the end of one's consciousness has an effect on one's perception of happiness or even being aware of what makes one happy. Some of us are all to aware of that feeling of dread that always seems to be looming in the background and no matter how much we try to ignore it.
That is what I mostly felt even when sharing a moment and basically having a great time. The dread that no matter how much you try to act okay, you really aren't and can't help but develop this lines on one's forehead and always having a distant look no matter how present you try to be.
With new experiences my understanding of happiness has changed. I concur ~
~ Remez Sasson
I don't necessary need material possessions to feel happy. A thing I think many people miss, and spend too much time and resources searching for ways to increase material possessions but even after that it all doesn't seem to hold the answer or that which they were looking for.
And so following is what makes me happy....
- My existence ~ I am not a religious person but despite that I have a deep appreciation for that single fact of my existence, doesn't matter for what purpose I am appreciative of being just there and that makes me happy because I can experience that what we call living.
- Shared moments ~ I have very few friends, I mean the only people who really know me and my real struggles are only two, and one thing that always feels me with satisfaction is just spending quality time with those who at least see me for who I am. For the fact that many don't understand my perspective means I conserve my energy and spend it on those who at least see me, and that makes me happy.
- Learning and gaining more awareness ~ Being able to satiate my never ending hunger for novelty and learning feels me with that joy form the inside. The fact that with the new information I can continuously mould myself into a totally new being with a totally different perspective makes me truly happy. It is sometimes painful learning new things about myself but it feels me with a sense of happiness being aware that tomorrow I will wake up a different person than I was today.
- Spending time with family ~ At the end of the day, family is all we have. They all may not be the best folks, they may not have the best intentions but there are always a few gems in the rumble and no matter the activity it feels me with happiness just getting to spend time with them.
I have experienced that which many can call unhappiness, more times than I would have liked, but in hindsight....
"You can't be happy unless you're unhappy sometimes"
~Lauren Oliver
✌
Y'all are the BEST!
Cheers!
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