Is happiness a fancy or a feeling?
Are you born happy? Do you become happy? Is there a formula? Now, don’t worry I won’t go off on a Marxist tirade about the evils of capitalism and how consumerism is failing to make people happy….and the dreaded R word…Recession!
It’s just a question that I started thinking about after a long train ride. Naturally, when you are travelling by yourself, without anything interesting to read and you aren’t blessed with the ability to sleep at anytime you want (is that a skill you can learn?)– People’s conversations start to filter in. Please note, I am not condoning eavesdropping or espionage or anything of similar nature! (terms and conditions apply when bored!)
I heard a woman talking (LOUDLY I must reiterate) to her friend about the new flat she’s moved into and the amazing party that her other half threw for her. And how she’s going to buy these beautiful shoes, because they are to die for. Now, I won’t start judging her and criticise her taste in fashion, because those shoes are…actually I’m not sure, because it started a thought process in me.
I asked myself do we all have the same sense of happiness? Are people who want new shoes which will make them happy, slightly silly?
No.
I think, we tend to think that happiness is a shared concept; the same for one and all.
Perhaps happiness to some is a new car, having a best friend, eating their favourite meal or getting a promotion.
I think we can feel happy, when we accept that we are all different.
That we look differently; starving yourself to look like a celebrity that is “happy” because she/he looks ‘beautiful’/’macho’, probably won’t make you happy. Lack of food, will probably make you unhappy.
That we believe in different things; some people will always disagree with you, some will try and impose their views on you, some people will just not care. But you can be different and embrace individuality.
That we want different things; from life. Just because someone doesn’t want to study at University or become teacher, doesn’t mean they are making the biggest mistakes in their lives and will become unhappy.
Nobody is the same; we shouldn’t force ourselves to want/do something, because it is what makes everyone else “happy”.
Embracing our individuality and diversity; our differences alongside our similarities which bind us together as a race, can make us realise our worth and dare I say, our happiness.
Oh and, that’s just my opinion, we’re all different, remember 
by Sajida Zahra Manji
i guess one could say that happiness is a by-product and not an ending
great article though, keep ‘em coming!
definitely agree, but don’t you agree often we are in the pursuit of happiness, rather than realising we are happy….or content, pleased, enjoying life…
Thanks for your comment
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it” – Rumi
Interesting article. Often you see people look for happiness in the world around them when really it all lies within yourself.
There’s a really good book called “The story of stuff” by Juliet Schor (you can watch a summary video at http://www.storyofstuff.com/) it explains how North American society has conditioned people to continuously buy more things because it is supposed to make them happier. We get into this cycle where we buy to be happy, have to work to pay for the stuff and watch TV to relax, which convinces us that we need to buy to be happy and so on..
It’s interesting to also note that statistically, yearly sales of anti-depressants are on the rise and so are global suicide rates. Yet we’re all still buying so much stuff…
Like maulana Rumi says, complete happiness is only found within and that is entirely in your control.
Mashal