What is happiness? It is a state of mind? Is it physical in nature? Can it really be achieved? Is it one thing or many things? Or is it just as subjective as the differences in each of us?
When we speak of being happy is it a permanent state, a tangible goal or are we looking for eternal happiness, a state of being, reaching Brahman for example. Is happiness what lies in the future as a goal to be achieved by some 10-step program?
Happiness therefore can’t be one thing. It manifests itself to be many things to many people. It can be reaching a tangible goal like saving up for your first car and then driving it with a big happy smile on your face. Hard to argue that this person has not reached a state of happiness.
How about the birth of your first child, the wide-eyed wonder of the moment, this must be a state of extreme happiness? Or reaching a financial goal that brings you the freedom from all your past economic woes?
I will be happy if; I can only get, or have, or be, or take, or give, or arrive, or meet, or any one or all of these. There will always be something that lays ahead, just out of reach that promises to hold the key to a fulfillment of joy and happiness. Where the dopamine can be released once and for all in the body and usher up a state of euphoria that fills you with pleasure, satisfaction, motivation and accomplishment second to none.
Life is complete. You’re living the dream! The end?
What if it turns out to be not enough? What lies ahead is another search as this one is not quite satisfying enough, not enough happiness. It did not last long enough. Something more.
And what have you given up in this utopian search for the holy grail?
You missed out on what was right in front of you each day. The joy of meeting a friend, the pleasure of having dinner with the family; the joy of the next step you achieved on your way to a goal you have set for yourself, maybe the 5 lbs. you wanted to lose?
You have become so obsessed with the grass being greener on the other side, that happiness is this endless search for what is out there tomorrow, somewhere in the future, that you miss out on what happens in the present; today.
It is called the present for a reason. Each day should be regarded as a gift, with treasures large and small revealing themselves if you look for them. Today is a present from life itself.
“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way!”
Know these words and you will find pleasure in the sunrise, in the laughter of your children, the smile of a satisfied customer, the sound of a loved one’s voice. The cheers from the crowd when you scored a goal, or the pleasure when being greeted by your beloved dog. Happiness is everywhere. You just need to open your eyes.