“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence” - Aristotle
According to Wikipedia “happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure or joy.” Happiness is something we feel, it is an internal experience of consciousness. Happiness is part of our awareness, our consciousness. It is a state of being. The Dalai Lama says “happiness is not a luxury it is the purpose of our existence.”
According to Wikipedia “happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure or joy.” Happiness is something we feel, it is an internal experience of consciousness. Happiness is part of our awareness, our consciousness. It is a state of being. The Dalai Lama says “happiness is not a luxury it is the purpose of our existence.”
The simple fact that everything we do correlates in some way back to happiness, makes it the single most compelling explanation of the human experience. For the vast majority of us, everything we do in life, we do to make ourselves happier. We go to work and earn a living in the hope that we can build a life that will make us happy.
We enter into relationships in the hope that they will make us happy. We have career aspirations because we think the achievement of these will make us happy. We have a family, as we think that this will bring us happiness. We have relationships with others and engage in social interaction hoping this will bring us happiness. All these things we do, we do as a result of wanting to feel the emotion of happiness. There is no point in having a wonderful career, success and relationships if they don’t make us happy.
Happiness vs. Pleasure
We must understand that pleasure and happiness are two completely different things. Pleasure is of the senses and lacks any kind of meaning. One can find pleasure in many different forms. From smelling a flower, sitting in front of a fire on a cold day, eating our favorite meal or doing a multitude of different physical activities that make us feel good. Happiness is dependent upon meaning and can be felt even if negative external circumstances exist.
We must understand that pleasure and happiness are two completely different things. Pleasure is of the senses and lacks any kind of meaning. One can find pleasure in many different forms. From smelling a flower, sitting in front of a fire on a cold day, eating our favorite meal or doing a multitude of different physical activities that make us feel good. Happiness is dependent upon meaning and can be felt even if negative external circumstances exist.
Happiness is more durable and persistent than pleasure, which is often short lived and fleeting. We could be playing our worst round of golf ever, yet still be happy. We could be involved in an accident and injured, yet still be happy. Our various internal circumstances have not changed, the only thing that has changed is our external environment and circumstances.
Happiness is something that can be developed over time. It is like anything we set our mind to. With careful practice and patience we can build a solid foundation of happiness. It is important we consciously make this decision to be happy.
Happiness is something that can be developed over time. It is like anything we set our mind to. With careful practice and patience we can build a solid foundation of happiness. It is important we consciously make this decision to be happy.
Author and Credits: Andrew Martin