What is it “To be Happy”? Is it doing an activity you enjoy? “I’m happy when; I’m gardening, reading, snuggling with my partner, playing the guitar”. Is it when you experience a sense of achievement? “I’m happy because; I just got the job I always wanted, I graduated with honors, I just got first place, finished a marathon”. Is it when you experience pleasure? “I’m happy when; I’m having sex, getting a massage, lying out in the sun”. Or is it when you’re having fun? “I’m happy when I’m skiing, dancing, surfing”. What if it’s none of these things?
All of the above have something in common; they involve something outside of you which seems to cause the happiness. If you think about it for a moment, it also involves an interpretation leading to a choice to be happy. Not everyone experiences being happy while they are dancing, finishing a marathon, reading, or lying out in the sun. Being happy has nothing to do with activities, achievements, pleasure or fun. The bottom line is, you don’t need a reason to be happy. It’s about your state of mind, a willingness to see the choice is yours. You can choose to be happy, or unhappy, regardless of what seems to be going on around you. It has nothing to do with circumstances.
It’s human to add meaning to life’s events and then think those events are meaningful. You just forgot that you were the one who gave it the meaning. Everything that happens in life, in of itself, has no meaning until you add meaning to it. You can still be happy even if you don’t like what is happening around you. Nothing on its own can make you happy, or unhappy for that matter. How you think determines your interpretation of what’s happening in your life. The key to happiness begins with a willingness to see you are the source of it.
