Does Happiness Exist?

Are You Happy?

This is for my sister Tammy. She said a lot of my posts are sad, I told her there must be a darkness within me that comes out when I write. Sometimes life is sad. We need to roll through that and get to the happy side.

Define It

What is happiness? Define happiness for me? What is your version? When I google it says happiness is an emotional state characterized by joy, satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Why do so many people struggle to find the balance?

I believe everyone has to seek their own happiness. Maybe it’s a choice. Sad or happy. I choose happiness. Today my day started with happiness when I figured out Wordle with only two guesses. It doesn’t take much to make me happy. Life is too short; we all need to grab onto it and hold on tight. It slips away in our weakest moments. It’s elusive and a glass half full shattered.

Pretense Doesn't Work

Pretending to be happy when we aren’t doesn’t work. Comedians are at the forefront of my thinking. Many are gone before their time. The only time happiness oozes and pours out of them is when they are on stage performing. They are alive at that moment. After the lights go out and everyone goes home their own inner light dims. Is it drugs, depression, or loneliness? The price of fame is sometimes their life. There was darkness living inside them, maybe it lives inside us all. Out comes my darkness again. It’s like a worm inside my brain. Slithering quietly through my thoughts. Dissecting, picking and choosing how I feel.

Stay On Track

Let’s get back on track. Happiness comes from within. Along with emotion it is a state of mind. Kindness goes along with happiness. We cannot be happy if we are not kind. It took me most of my life to figure that one out. As we age, we get smarter. Turn that anger inside into kindness.

We cannot find happiness for others. It is a journey one must travel on their own. It’s not like there is a happiness store can where we can browse, pick some up and bring it home. During the winter months the sun shining makes me happy. So many overcast days with endless snow and cold temperatures. The sun peeks through and suddenly the world is right again.

Happiness is also peace of mind. We need to be happy with ourselves in order to be happy. Constantly finding fault with life, brings depression and loneliness. Find a hobby, get out there and socialize. Experts say interacting with others can reduce the chance of dementia. A disease I always worry about since it runs in my family. Volunteer at the local hospital, maybe happiness is inside those doors. Or being an animal lover, I would go to my local humane society and volunteer to walk dogs. That is if I do not have to set foot inside, the smells, fear and barking make my heart ache. Getting off track again.

Find Your Own

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Back to happiness. It swirls around, lurking in the background. Waiting for us to catch up and find it. It’s been there the whole time; we just didn’t know where to look. I find happiness with friends. Girlfriends and coffee clutches or breakfasts. Being a reader, I also find it at my local library. Browsing the shelves brings a smile to my face. So much history, adventure, action, comedy, and murder at the tip of my fingers. Biographies interest me, true to life. People’s life stories amaze and captivate me.

One person's happiness is not the same as another’s. It is sometimes only through struggle we achieve happiness. A loss of a limb, an unexpected death in the family. Life challenges us all. When faced with tough decisions we come to grips with our true selves. How we react speaks volumes. Life reaches down and plucks us out of our ordinary lives, expecting extraordinary consequences. One day is sunshine and glory, the next our world falls apart, never to be the same. Not all of us experience a catastrophic event. But there are those of us who do. Where we go from that pivotal point rests entirely on our shoulders. Sink or swim. 

It's Right in Front of You

Perhaps we don’t have to go anywhere to find happiness. It’s right at home. Family. Grandkids, dogs, husbands, wives. Like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. There’s no place like home. Let's all click our shoes together, see if it works.

So, maybe the answer is not looking for happiness. It is at the core of us. We just need to dig down deep to find it. There are those out there who never find it. Their lives often short. They are looking for it in the wrong places, alcohol, parties, drugs, and false friends. The ones who steal our happiness, suck it out of our souls with their negative attitudes, and try to make it their own. Don’t let them. Claim it and make it your own.

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Happiness is out there waiting. Find yours. Mine is notes from my grandkids.

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Sorry Tam, but even in happiness I find darkness. Maybe in a parallel universe it exists in its true form.

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