There was once a time when happiness was something that was constantly defined, usually in terms of obtainable life goals. It would generally be a future goal, perhaps career related, or a personal life goal. There isn’t anything wrong with that but it seems that society has finally stepped away from that linear view of happiness. Well to start things off, there are two types of happiness. There is happiness, which entails all the wonderful things in life that cause a rise in dopamine, and then there’s Happiness, the end goal that each person is seeking in life. What was first a typical goal has now become this abstract ideology that people are trying to fully understand. Of course with a proper understanding comes a keener mind, which will eventually result in being truly happy, but that leads me to question: what does being truly happy mean?
Throughout life my personal definition has changed much like I have, in the beginning happiness seemed to be encapsulated by successes in terms of academics, career, financials, and all the other life goals handed down. With that type of definition life is left to feel quite empty, happiness becomes an unobtainable emotion. In fact calling happiness a concept already creates an air around it, as if it’s a myth or legend depicting the tales from a far away land. I was left to feel constantly unsatisfied. Every time a goal was reached it felt as if twenty more replaced it, soon trying to be happy became a burden. My shoulders began to carry weight that was being added by invisible hands. At this time no mind even wants to be happy. But through that difficult time my mind began to focus on the other type of happiness. At a time when life became too much I found myself making a list of the things that take away that weight. I began to create a list of all the things I wanted to see the next day for.
The feel of the breeze on my face on a hot summer day.
The grass under my feet when I run across my lawn barefoot.
The sound of my dog’s heartbeat when I hold her close.
The feel of my mom’s hand stroking my hair when I lay next to her.
The weight slowly disappeared with each new point on my list and I came to realize the power of the little things. The little goals were what helped me reach the next day, and the little things that made me happy in life helped me strive to see them again. As the years carried on and my list grew longer a point finally clicked in life that I try to reach others with.
Happiness is not an end result, but rather our companion in life.
As the human mind continues to ponder a greater definition for this emotion it is vital to remember that it need not be some end all be all goal. In fact a goal is already something that needs to be obtained, as if it doesn’t need to be had all of life. Why can’t “Happiness” just be a conglomeration of all the details in life that eases the weight off your shoulders? The people and things that surround us in life that help bring smiles to our faces, or make a day worth living all play a large part in our happiness. As these little things are cherished it’s almost as if the larger scheme of Happiness becomes visible, by our side. It need not be a distant goal that we travel through life to achieve in the end. Rather it’s weaved into the journey through life, and somehow gets lost in translation. It’s as if the cumbersome nature of life causes us to turn blind to something that’s been by our side all along. This isn’t to say all of life will always be happy, of course not. There needs to be a balance of every emotion, but just as how there isn’t some end goal for each emotion, there isn’t one for happiness.
To be happy doesn’t require a commitment to large life plans, but can come from beating a hard level in a game or from finding time to finally go to that bakery with your friend. To be able to finally breathe and remember that to be happy should not be a burdensome task, but an involuntary action that leads us to the next day.
Enjoy the journey of life. People come to pick up many things from it: passion, sadness, exhilaration, and one of those things ends up being happiness.
