Happiness - Google will give you an exact definition but the interpretation is different from person to person. What is it like to be truly happy? What do you want or need to be happy?
Here's to Sam and Dean for their Innitiave. It got me thinking about the things that make me happy and the things that put me in a peaceful state of mind - both essential but serve a different purpose.
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We often mistake contentment with happiness - there's a thin line. Yes, happiness can be found in the right cup of tea, then again imagine - a cup of tea with biscuits in a rainy late afternoon surrounded by a few friends; the tea could be crappy but the company makes up for it, doesn't it? Contentment is when you flip pages of your favorite book only to find your favorite chapters or section - have you read a book to a kid out loud and mimicking how the characters talk?
I'm not going to establish myself as a know-it-all; I barely know anything. And, I would never educate anyone about happiness when I don't know much. But I know the feeling of drinking a cup of tea sharing a small pack of biscuits among loved ones, and I also know the feeling of narrating stories to my niece when she was a little wittle kid, also I remember the carefree feeling of playing football in a muddied field in the pouring rain.
Happiness doesn't have any measurements - one can be happy with small things and big equally. You can be happy when your favorite team wins the match and when you win a jackpot the same way; the excitement and adrenaline are close to being the same. If you ask parents, they'd perhaps say that the birth of their child was the happiest day of their lives. A businessman perhaps would say that his first successful venture had made him the happiest. The definition may stay the same but the variation can be seen.
Some may see happiness as a state of mind - a feeling that can be derived from the sense of satisfaction or contentment; think about your fondest memories or hobbies. Even your achievements can wrap you around a bubble of happiness. People say money can't buy you happiness - maybe they're right. Would it be preposterous to say living a life of grandeur makes many people happy? Some may try to argue that but for a fraction, happiness is defined by wealth. And like I said, the meaning of happiness is different from person to person and who's to say Chanelle and a big house can't bring happiness to some, but I admit I can find happiness in little gestures and small things.
Think happy thoughts - it works great. I think about the things that make me happy, and there aren't a lot of them. Yes, I have fond memories that make me happy for a few moments but the memories are made and those moments are far more precious. If you ask me, I can also be happy stuffing myself with my favorite pasta - yes I'm a foodie.
I won't go all Dumbledore on you but that man has said something which is profound - Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
Perhaps I have rambled on and on for a long time now but I'll tell you this as well - Happiness is a choice. There is an abundance of things that can make us happy but for us to truly be happy, one has to want to be happy. I can only be happy if I want to and the choice remains with me. We can wallow over past sorrow, loss, and hurt but never overlook them as they magnify the sense of happiness if we choose to. We can either let ourselves stay wounded and grieving or move on and allow ourselves to be happy. The ball is always in our court.
P.S.: It's past 3 am and I need cheesecake.
