THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

I’m sure that most of you guys will agree with me when I say that what we are really looking for in our short stay on earth is the real meaning of happiness. Although the source of happiness varies from one person to another, it is something that we all wished for. The means maybe different but we all want to experience the same thing, HAPPINESS.
But how do we define happiness? For some it lies in the material things that they can have. The comfort that we can get from things makes us happy. For others happiness would mean achieving something in their life. For most perfectionists, happiness can be equated with success and self fulfillment. And for others happiness comes from simple things. Sharing an ordinary lunch with the family is something that gives them happiness.
But happiness doesn’t always offer the best in life. Argue with me but happiness is not at all good. I’m not trying to sound bitter but when we raised our standards for happiness, the more it becomes difficult. Those who have luxury cars are disappointed to heavy traffics. Those who travel first class get angry upon seeing long lines at the airport. Those who can afford to eat in an expensive restaurant have their tantrums when the food is not served on time. Those who lived in multimillion subdivisions are easily distracted by the little noise created by their neighbor. Those who can send their children in prestigious universities expect them to land a stable job in an instant. Despite all the luxuries that the rich enjoy, the privileges given to the VIP’s, the material things that they have, the money, power and success in their hands, why are they still not happy? Because happiness is not at all good. When people get used to being happy, simple problems makes them miserable and leave them in a pool of sadness and bitterness. In this case, happiness makes us weak. Being happy is nice but when it destroys our inner strength it becomes bad.
It’s not bad if we searched for happiness, after all that’s all we are looking for in our life. But we can enjoy happiness with simple things. A long walk with our favorite companion, a cup of our favorite warm latte while listening to soothing music, or just reading an inspiring novel can offer us happiness without taking the best out of our personality.
I’m one of those people who constantly seek for the real meaning of happiness. And during my journey, I encountered a lot of hardships. During the sad times in my life, I learned values that I know I would have not learned should have I not experienced being unhappy. You can never truly define what happiness is unless you know the meaning of sadness.