What is happiness?
Many of us strive towards happiness. It's the ultimate goal - to be happy.
We think once we have that car or own a house, have kids or get married or finally get that longed for promotion, then we'll be happy.
Except every time we reach a goal or a milestone, it gets replaced with something else and the striving for happiness starts all over again. We might be happy for a while but it doesn't last. Maybe because the novelty wears off or maybe because we realise the thing we thought would make us happy, doesn't actually have that effect.
Society tells us we need to be successful and young and beautiful and thin to be happy.
But what does happiness actually mean?
And is it realistic and achievable?
Is happiness the absence of fear or problems?
Is it not ever worrying about anything?
Is happiness having lots of friends?
Is it being confident?
If you ask a 100 people what happiness is, you probably get a 100 different answers.
Because happiness means different things to different people.
One thing we do know, is that it's not a destination. It's not a place you reach and then stay there.
Like all emotions happiness is transient, it changes and transforms. It fluctuates.
We tend to think of happiness in futuristic terms. “I'll be happy when...”
But what if you could be happy right now? In this moment?
What if happiness is not about what car you drive or whether you are successful in your job or own your own house?
What if happiness is your child's laughter putting a smile on your face?
What if happiness is having your mind blown by a spectacular sunset?
What if happiness is watching your favourite TV show?
What if happiness is taking the pressure of yourself?
Or spending time with your family and friends?
Or cuddling your pet?
Or spending time in nature?
What if happiness is actually all around us, right here, right now and we are too focused on achieving our goals to notice?
What if we actually defined happiness on our terms rather than striving for some ideal someone else or society has prescribed for us?
We don't know what tomorrow holds. None of us have a crystal ball. If we look at events in recent years, for example the Covid19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis, the Ukraine war, it becomes obvious that things happen all the time that can completely blindside us, shock us and remind us how many things are actually beyond our control.
Most of us spend a lot of time, energy and thoughts on the future. We worry about it, make plans for it, we might look forward to it and often we dread it too.
But perhaps the time for happiness isn't at some indeterminate point in the future, maybe the time for happiness is NOW!
Because at the end of the day, now, here, is all any of us have.
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