The Path to Happiness
One day a friend asked me whether I knew the path to happiness. Her question made me ponder upon happiness. Yea, where is the path to happiness? Am I now happy? What is the state of my emotional being? And the ultimate question would be: what is happiness?
Does happiness equal having a lot of money? Or is happiness love?
Then I began to do a little research by asking people about happiness. Most of them refer happiness as a subjective feeling of goodness caused by beneficial circumstances such as being loved, having lots of money, having accomplished life time goals, acquiring good fortunes, getting married, having been healed, eating good food, and having other physical pleasures.
I have met the richest people and not all of them are happy. And the most successful people claimed that it is very lonely up there. When they were climbing the ladder of success, they expected that when they reach the top of the world, they would be happy. Instead, they find nothing but loneliness.
When I asked some newly-wed couples, they think they could be happy by being married.
Well... as we; older people; know, obviously that’s not true at all. If by being married we could get happiness then there would be no divorce in the world.
Children have different standards of happiness. A 5-year-old would be happy when his parents bring him to Disney Land. A 17-year might be really offended when his parents take him to Disney Land. On the other hand, he might appreciate and be happy if he gets a car as his birthday present.
All due respects to the people providing the answers above, those circumstances paths to happiness are uncontrollable. When our happiness depends on uncontrollable circumstances, then our happiness is also uncontrollable and unstable.
Happiness should be within us, not depend on unstable circumstances.
Happiness is one of the keys to healthy brain.