Happiness is

Happiness is that elusive thing that we all seem to be seeking. After all “the pursuit of happiness” is even mentioned in the American Constitution. So I guess that makes it positively Un-American to be unhappy, right? Think rah-rah cheerleaders!

But of course happiness, like other mind states, is not dictated by American or any other country’s cultural imperatives. It just is, it just exists, and it seems that if you pursue it too fervently, it may vanish without proper explanation.

Here are some of the things I notice that either cause or are connected to “happiness:”

A phone call

Seeing your dreams come true

The end or beginning of something

Doing nothing

Being present

Eating our favorite foods

Making love (assuming it’s good)

We all may associate different things with the onset of “happiness,” but whatever brings it about, we sure don’t like it when it’s yanked away too soon. So the interesting question presents itself, which is: Can we be happy all or most of the time????

According to Buddhist philosophy, happiness exists simultaneously with unhappiness- the “two sides of the same coin” argument. If that is true, what is it that triggers the onset of happiness- that shift away from unhappiness? As usual, we can look to energy, in this case it is often positive energy thrust upon us that we absorb that pushes us away from the darkness of unhappiness to happiness. And the converse is true as well. If we become the “detached observer” of the events of our life, rather than the emotionally reactive participant, we can slowly over time view life’s thrusts, whether previously labeled as good or bad, as just things happening around us; If we can maintain this attitude, we can find ourselves in touch with an underlying happiness and sense of ease that all is right with the world and that everything around us happens for a reason.

Be happy my friends.