Wikipedia describes happiness as “A positive and a pleasant condition ranging from contentment to intense joy”. It can be triggered by both external and internal factors and can be brought about by a tiny obscure reason or conversely by a life changing event as well.
State of Mind – Relative Emotion
Personally speaking, happiness is a state of mind which is basically in the hands of the person experiencing this emotion. The key to happiness is essentially elemental and varied – something which brings joy or happiness to one person may be a cause of sorrow for another. It is a relative emotion and governs a person’s way of thought, action, speech and overall response to his surroundings. A person can be happy when he is well fed . However, another can be happy by being partially fed but by giving the rest of his food to say a hungry person or maybe an animal!!
One’s satisfaction quotient also goes a long way in making a person truly happy. There can be a class of people who are satisfied by doing a lowly paid job and are quite happy in life while tangentially, there are yet other people who are ruling the world with high profile, high paying jobs but yearn for more, resulting in dissatisfaction and thereby unhappiness.
One can also say that happiness is a state of subjective well-being which includes emotions, moods, feelings, state of contentment and “Eudaimonia” – humans flourishing in a state of contentment and prosperity. Several scales to measure happiness have been set up and governments such as United Kingdom and Bhutan have started measuring their nations well-being by measuring its GNH (Gross National Happiness). The Cantrill Ladder Method and SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale) are other methods employed worldwide to measure happiness.
However what is noteworthy is that today’s world equates happiness with attainment of material goals. Materialistic achievements have become synonymous to the effectuation of happiness. If denied that material gain, a person moves from the status of ‘happiness’ to ‘sadness’ and ‘discontent’.
So where does happiness truly exist??
Does one have to give up all materialistic pleasures that dictate society to attain true happiness??? Far from it. I do not advocate a relinquishing of material pleasures. My point of view is that to gain pleasure one needs material gains BUT to a certain extent. One must limit one’s wants and desires and only then can one be happy. So long there is a craving for more, one is perpetually anxious to fulfill it and so cannot even experience joy and happiness at what he has already gained.
For that one must be mentally sound and strong with a cast iron willpower. One has to be able to say ’OKAY’ I have enough now and be able to draw boundaries on further desires and also be able to go over and above the green eye of jealousy of other people’s material gains which may be more than theirs. One must realize that material gains after a certain level is just a status symbol-the only utility value it adds is enhancing your social position thereby only gaining you fawners and bootlickers – it does nothing to add to your happiness.
Summing up, true happiness is within you yourself which only you can nurture with contentment and a feeling of well-being. After all, being happy never goes out of style and as Lord Buddha said “Happiness is a journey, not the destination”
This journey is never- ending. You continue it to your last breath and that is the beauty of happiness – once it is truly gained.
Sharmila is a housewife, mother and grandmother, based in Prayagraj. She has a keen interest in reading fiction especially mythology -Greek, Roman and Indian and also romantic thrillers. She also doubles as a home tutor in her spare time along with carrying out her household responsibilities.
She is labelled as an opinionated chatterbox who makes friends easily and gives no importance to what others think of her. Live and let live is the rule she lives by and wants nothing more than peace and prosperity all around.
