All The Joys In The World

Recently I've been thinking about the things that make a person happy. Is it money? Is it status? Is it the things that we own? Is it other people? When do we consider ourselves truly happy? And what constitutes a miserable and hard-up life?

All of these questions have different answers for different people. Our upbringings and therefore our outlook on the world as a result play a vital role in what we come to value and how. Many of us will most likely correlate happiness to various things at different stages of our lives depending on how lucky (or unlucky) we consider ourselves to be at that moment in time. Happiness is not always permanent, just as much as misery and sadness is not permanent either.

For me, happiness is a wide range of things and ultimately, my happiness is not always connected to an object or a person. After all, happiness can be in a small act of kindness, a satisfying sound, an idea or even a memory. There is no restriction as to what happiness looks or feels like. Really, I like the idea that happiness can mean whatever we want it to and can make us appreciate the value of life in every aspect of our day to day being.

However, I do believe that certain ideals and values can distort our view of what really matters. For example, the ideal that having the best and most expensive of things in life in order to display social status and achievement can, in my opinion, be a harmful lifestyle choice that makes us forget that there are certain things that will not always necessarily provide happiness. Even the richest of people can have everything and still be miserable compared to the poorest of people who have almost nothing but are grateful for what they do have.

I also believe, though this is almost always realised some time after, that we can also feel happiness because of times of heartbreak and hardship. Sadness and angst teach us the meaning of our emotions and cause us to reflect upon what we can do to restore balance and elation to our existence. For example, the loss of a close friend, a beloved pet, or a pivotal family member can make us realise what we valued the most and forces us to reflect on the impact that we make through our actions and words. Loss is hard, but a necessary fact of life that teaches us strength and of the things we most appreciate about the ones we love. These lessons in turn can teach us about the kind of people that society needs and values.

Ultimately, in this moment of time, I would consider myself as happy. I am not happy because of the material things that I have (though these things do provide a small portion of my happiness), I am happy because of how I choose to view the world around me and of how no matter what happens to us, there is always something that can amaze us, excite us, or even make us cry tears of joy. I am happy because of friends and family that ground me and share memories with me, I am happy because I am capable of both independence and dependence, I am happy to have free will that allows me to make choices and shape my own future.

Happiness for me is the array of emotions that I experience, the moments that last a lifetime, the ability to form meaningful relationships and best of all, the notion that the tiniest amount of happiness that I radiate can change a person's life in ways that I could neither anticipate or predict. Life is beautiful and worth living and contains so many joys that make us who we are and who we want to be.