Does happiness exist?
This question is one that I often ponder on.
Buddhism believes that yes, it does exist but just like any other emotion, it is impermanent and although Ive grown fond of this idea I cant help but over analyse and consider other possibilities.
Is happiness a figment of our imagination?
Like religion, people turn to ‘heaven to comfort them from fears of inevitable oblivion. Do we turn to ‘happiness to comfort us from fears of eternal sadness?
Do we mistake moments of satisfaction for happiness because we know no better than to make assumptions?
Maybe it does exist, maybe those moments arent satisfaction but are true happiness, but because humans are natural idealists, we make-believe traditional happiness to avoid disappointment.
I dont know but what I do know is that telling someone that happiness is not real is like telling a child that neither is Santa.
Were all naive and I think thats okay. Maybe our ignorance is our ‘happiness.
@IronicSarcasm
I'm not a deep thinker, but I can tell you are a thoughtful person. To some extent in the United States we have been told what happiness should be and have been sold a bill of goods that is really just a dream. I equate happiness with contentment. One of my favorite things is to sit with a good book on my front porch. Society has two major misconceptions about happiness: It should be instantaneous and it should be continuous. Neither is true. The philosophy I adhere to was summed up by Gordon Lightfoot in his song "Carefree Highway": "The thing I call livin' is just bein' satisfied". I know this doesn't really answer your question, and it may sound corny.
-Dave
@alonesomeryder Happiness is possible, but it just depends on the person. In the USA, happiness is defined by where you live, what car you drive, how much money you make, what you're wearing, and what material things you own. Segregation, racism, and prejudice exists and is at an extreme, yet people still continue to try to be better than the next. That is happiness? Killing each other everyday, criticizing each other, and hating the cops now. That is happiness? I am so tired of watching the news every morning and someone got shot or killed or some place was robbed ... so much prejudice and racism as well like we are back in 1960. History repeats itself. I am praying for a happy day and a happy world. When will that be?
@IronicSarcasm
See my reply below:
In my opinion, it does exist, but happiness is very, very complex thing. People have that regular definition of "happiness", universal, and then people who aren't happy think that they'd find happiness when their life looks like the life of a person we defined as happy. But that's wrong. Everyone's definition of happiness is different. And it's also very challenging to admit yourself what actually makes you happy because of that universal definition; You believe that you should be ashamed if something that's "different" makes you happy, which is very bad and then you force yourself to live a "happy" life, when you actually feel empty inside, but you continue living it because people told you that that is "happiness". Happiness DOES exist, but it's different for everyone. And not everyone is brave enough to admit what actually makes them happy. What makes me happy ? Destruction. And then people call me disordered because the different thing makes me happy, when I actually just am being quite honest. They would be "crazy", "disordered" too if they actually knew what exactly makes them happy. It's about our little fetishes. And you know what's the most disordered ? That we all believe that there is one definition of some emotion. EVERYONE experiences them differently. "Oh, you're sad ? Why don't you cry then ?" - see ? This whole nation is crazy, disordered, they don't know anything. When you're asking yourself are you really happy, firstly ask yourself are you trying to fit in the definition of happiness that people gave to you. Think twice. I want to suffer, that's my happiness. The end of the story.
Since being alive entails different types of pain, my personal view on happiness is that it's both a mental/physical state and an outlook which challenge pain. I believe happiness is brought about by accepting life's difficulties and finding contentment through being proactive in the present, being mindful of positive details/opportunities and doing activities which align with one's personal values. Therefore, I don't see happiness as a "goal at the end of a finish line" but rather as an on-going part of a personally fulfilling life.
Under my description of happiness, popular Western symbols of "purchasable happiness" like toys or a large house are distractions because they promise constant happiness only after you buy the item. But any praise, attention or feeling of accomplishment a person gets from simply owning an item is unproductive to their personal growth. Such thinking forces the person to fixate upon objects to fill a void caused by a lack of genuine personal purpose.
