In today’s society the search for happiness generates thousands of discussions, workshops, courses, books and articles. It is an inspirational subject many, many people write about and even more want to read about. Everybody wants to be happy. So do I, but what if happiness cannot be found if we search or try too hard? What if the endless search of Happiness is standing in our way of actually being happy? When is it time to stop searching and just be… happy?
Everybody has there own definition of happiness for some it is an exhilarating, blood pumping through there veins, rush like sensation, for others it is total peace, a stillness, a feeling of complete balance. A sense of happiness is described everywhere in between those completely different experiences. It is entirely personal and never the same for everybody. But the one thing that these sensations have in common is that it is Right Here, Right Now. It is in that moment. The fact that it is a moment, transient, is what makes it special. We enjoy the beauty of a flower because we know it will eventually wither. If that flower would bloom forever and would always be there, we would not notice it anymore.
So, what if being happy just pops-up every once and a while, if you search for it or not. What if happiness is in learning, and empathy. Being open to new possibilities and outcomes. What if happiness is a by product of being enthusiastic and allowing yourself to be surprised in the ongoing learning process that is life? What if we let go off this never ending search and just be, accept the fact that living in a non-stop state of happiness is not doable. That being happy all the time might even start to bore us eventually, like listening to the same song all the time. Is it human nature to be in the middle, to be balanced, happy all the time, stillness, all the time, no challenges, nothing to overcome or let go of, no thought provoking situations, nothing? Will the thrilling sensation of your heart racing, blood pumping through your veins, a nonstop state of rush, still feel as happiness if you feel that all the time? Isn’t the fact that happiness is this short lived moment what makes it so sweet?
What does this imply to all these books, workshops and courses on happiness? Learning how to overcome, reframe, let go and move forward is something that is usefull to a lot of us. Learning how to open up to new possibilities and outcomes is wonderful. But knowing when to just be, allowing ourselves to be enthusiastic and be surprised can be the key. Accepting happiness as a pop-up that will come and go unexpected, can be the answer to this endless search for happiness. Accepting life as an ongoing learning process, steps to take, people to meet and things to experience and happiness as a by-product, an unannounced pop-up.
Happiness is a state of mind that really depends how we see the situations in our lives each day. you can have all the riches in the world but still see it as a lonely place.:*’
Yes, it all depends on how whe percieve happiness and daily life.
Being open to learn can help to take steps towards a different perspective.
Realizing that the eternal “hunt” for happiness might stand in the way of actually being happy.
Happiness is something that is just there in that moment like an unannounced pop-up.