It was the 2nd of April 2022, I woke up as usual, but there was something playing in my mind the entire day; this had to do with happiness.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-yellow-emoji-on-yellow-case-207983/
I was contemplating what it is that makes human beings naturally ecstatic, and at peace with themselves, and the life they are living. What makes us happy? What are the roots of happiness here on earth while we are alive? Why is being happy important to living a long and healthy life?
Following is a discussion of these questions from a personal point of view as the experience of happiness and the emotion (sadness) on the other end of the spectrum of happiness equipped the author to talk about this.
According to official sources, happiness is “a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. It is also emotions experienced when in a state of well-being" (Oxford Advanced Dictionary).
A state is “the way something is with respect to its main attributes” (Oxford Advanced Dictionary).
Happiness is a state which is accompanied by attributes which signify the condition of a person’s heart, and mind, and their general outlook on life. These can include joy, laughter, a constant sunny and upright disposition, affirmative body language, high self-esteem, physiological health and confidence in oneself.
What is well-being? It is a contented state of being happy, and healthy, and prosperous (Oxford Advanced Dictionary).
Well-being or eudaimonia is when you are doing good both emotionally, physically and financially, but unfortunately, not all these states can be experienced at the same time by everyone as we go through distinct challenges where we are either physically and emotionally secure, but financially deprived due to a lack of work, or a steady source of income, hence, it is not rare but hard to find people whose lives are holistically complete with all pieces fitting in place.
It is possible to not be financially stable, but have physical, mental, and emotional health and be happy, but this does not mean that money does not contribute to our happiness, in fact we need it to be able to care for ourselves and those around us; the fact of being able to meet others’ needs and our own is enough to make us happy.
Anyhow, it would be false to say there are no people out there in all sorts of situations that are depressing, but who choose to have a positive outlook.
Photo by Binti Malu: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-a-smiley-face-balloon-6970700/
What do we ideally need, in order to be happy?
1. We need the environment we are in to be a source of our needs.
These include food, shelter, clothes and the provision of basic necessities. These can be acquired through having a vocation, farming or source of income that enables you to meet you and your loved one’s needs, and in turn contribute to a state of well-being through happiness and contentedness that ultimately do contribute to the life of each and every human being on earth.
As for people that cannot work, such as kids and the elderly, they need reassurances that their needs will be fully met by those under whose care and supervision they fall, be it either family members or the state.
2. We need a sense of peace to be happy.
You can be rich, and wealthy, strong physically, emotionally and mentally, but if you have no peace with who you are, with how you were made, and with the circumstances you were born in, whether they be dire, or whether you were born into money, then, even if you acquire the most extravagant possessions and travel to the most exotic of places, you will never be happy because the foundation of your joy is not overall peace with who you are. I am not saying be in a state of poverty and be at peace that you will continue being in that condition without the possibility of escaping it, no!! I am saying if our situation is dire, to deal with it in a constructive manner is to accept it, and come to terms with it, only then can we transcend it and aim for a better life.
Peace – The absence of mental stress or anxiety (Oxford Advanced Dictionary). There are other definitions of peace, but this one above slips right into the content of this article.
Real peace can not come from the state of our environment, though it does contribute to it, but it should come from within and be displayed without. Hence, it is significant to teach people especially when they are young to separate their sense of peace from being tied to the world.
3. We need to feel we belong and are needed.
Every human being wants to feel wanted and loved, because at the core we are essentially social beings, and without community and constant communication we as individuals may start feeling alienated from the world around us, this in turn will lead to unhappiness and feelings of loneliness, which may lead to sadness, and unfortunately, sometimes end up in depression. So, we need harmonious relationships with other people, relationships that are not perfect and immune to disputes, but which negate unnecessary qualms in place of oneness and upliftment.
To conclude, happiness is a state that every human being can enjoy. It comes with attributes that may help us identify a state of a person’s mind or life. These include behaviour, body demeanour, self-esteem and interaction with other beings.
In order to thrive and be happy, ideally, we need supportive environments, we need community and communion with others where we feel we belong and have a purpose, we need peace from within that is separate from our physical condition, this one is hard to attain but once attained then one has mastered the art of navigating life by not allowing external circumstances to dictate their feelings.
Happiness may seem hard to attain if we measure ourselves by the standards of the world, because happiness in the world is based on what you do, what you possess and how you look, which is wrong. It must be based on the respect of every individual in society, it must be based on everyone having a place to express themselves without fear of ridicule, it must be based on the upliftment of each other, it must be based on the fact that everyone is equal and their needs are being met, and founded on an inherent peace that everyone must be taught to cultivate within themselves.
Life is not easy, but you can still be and choose to be happy.