Happiness is complex yet amazingly simple. You know it when you feel it but often struggle to describe or define it. Is it an emotion? Is it internal feedback? Is it a frame of mind? Is it even more?
The good thing about happiness is we don’t have to know what it is to feel it. Just like we don’t have to define love to know when we are in love and we don’t have to know about amplitude and frequency to enjoy listening to music. There really is no need to analyze happiness to add more of it to our life.
Happiness is like the clear, warm light from sunshine. It brightens up all aspect of our world. We can go through a day without happiness and be productive. But when we add happiness, the day seems brighter, we get more done as we feel aligned with whatever it is we’re doing.
I also appreciate the light analogy because when we are happier, we tend to see more. The world slows down a bit and we can take more of it in. We can go through a day in the dark, but it is so much more enjoyable with light.
We feel more energy when we’re happier – It’s like the happiness shines energy through us. Imagine going through life with only a flashlight to illuminate your activities. With a flashlight, you can only see your immediate focus. Other events and opportunities are blind to you.
As we will mention in future posts, seeing other possibilities is one of the wonderful benefits of happiness.
Happiness is part of your core. You are born happy. It’s there from the start. Go to a park filled with children playing and listen to the squeals of laughter and joy to remind you of what happiness is all about. Think about the last time you laughed so hard you had trouble breathing.
So, the real question is what is happiness to you? What happiness means to me or what it means to scientists or philosophers really doesn’t matter. Happiness is different for everyone. It is highly personal as it should be. I’m not talking about what makes you happy, I’m talking about happiness itself.
How you define happiness is very different from anyone else. It is based on your beliefs, perspective, experience and all manner of things. No one can make you happy or keep you from being happy if you choose otherwise.
Take some time to think about what happiness means to you. Try not to focus on what makes you happy, but more about what it feels like when you are happy. A nice way to do this is to think of something that makes you automatically smile. Maybe a funny story or a recent event; maybe just a pleasant memory.
As the smile comes to your face, capture the feeling. That’s what I’m talking about. That’s how you define happiness.
If you have words for happiness, please share them in the comments below. I’d really like to know how you define the feeling of happiness for yourself.
