Where the f%$@ did I put my happiness?!

What is the one thing that every single inhabitant of the planet aspires to, what do we all want from our lives?

Happiness!

That’s right, at the end of the day, all we really want is to be happy. Now you can choose a different word if you like, but for me, happy works. It is all I want out of life. It is my great aspiration. It is the ultimate measure of how successfully I play the game of life.

Ask someone if they are happy and you are more than likely to get answers like: “yea I guess”, “mostly”, “it depends”, or my personal favourite “what do you mean?”. To many, happiness is elusive. It is something we all know is at the very essence of human existence yet the best we get are fleeting glimpses of it. Moments where we kinda see it, an ephemeral wisp, a hint, like a fragrance that catches our attention and carries us away even as it fades back into a distant memory.

 The problem is that we give away our happiness through an innocent misunderstanding of where it actually comes from. We believe that happiness is a commodity that we trade for other things ie. “I will be happy when…”. If you read my blog about doing and donting you will see that we treat happiness the same way. When this, then that. When I have (this) x amount in my bank account (then) I will be happy.

So how do I find happiness? Not the fleeting kind of pedestrian happiness, but the living-life-with-zeal-and-passion kind. The kind that curls your toes and has you playing full contact and fearless in your life. The kind that allows a full and complete experience of being human.

We must understand that happiness is not a thing we become, manipulate, trade, rely on others for, or acquire through effort. Happiness is simply what we are. It is our birthright. If you have ever said “my kids make me happy”, “my husband/wife makes me happy”, “my job…”, “my money…” etc you have missed it. You have given it away. We cannot become or find that which we already are. Happiness is what you see when you look into the eyes of a child. It is that which is with us from the beginning. When you look to the outside for your happiness you will always be at the mercy of your environment. You will blame circumstance when you aren’t happy and thank circumstance when you are. In either case you will have missed it.

How do we lose sight of this? Simple, we think it away. See, happiness is not tied to our intellect. It is not a function of our brain, rather a product of spirit. It is part of the energy that enables life.  It is our birthright. Not being happy is something we learn, it is how we may come to see ourselves, but it is not who we are. Not being happy is what happens when we believe that our feelings are a testament to who we are, rather than what we are thinking in the moment. Not being happy is what happens when we believe that what we think is the truth.

Happiness is what you are. It cannot be found because it cannot be lost.

Much Love

Michael