As some of you might have noticed, I’ve been posting a bunch of weird questions on social media lately: What is happiness? Do you consider yourself happy? Is happiness the ultimate purpose in life? I was genuinely curious to hear you out and to see what you all thought, as well as to how that compared to my thoughts on the topic.
I think there are as many definitions of happiness as there are people out there. I did not get two identical answers. Interestingly, some themes came back more than others. And so, I will finally be sharing with you the various answers I got, and some of my thoughts as a (not actually) professional overthinker and analyzer. Launching results in Three... Two...
... One of the most common themes out of all the answers I got was simplicity. Quite a few people thought that happiness was found in the small things all around us, be it day-to-day caring actions from a loved one or the beauty of nature:
Happiness is to be happy with what we have. It is to appreciate the small things in life: a butterfly… the face of a child smiling at you… a blooming flower and its fragrance spreading throughout your home. It is to know that through highs and lows, you can be happy.
-M.-C. L.
And what if happiness was a tiny thing? Tiny pieces of happiness that you add onto crazy days? A warm wind announcing a nice day of spring. Your boyfriend preparing you a coffee before leaving for work. A friend inviting you for lunch. A good song you can sing to the top of your lungs as you drive in a car…
-J. M.
What if happiness was found in simplicity? What is fascinating is that we have been happy before, when our only concern was to choose which game we felt like playing today! Kids have the gift to just live in the present moment. (...) It is them who should teach us!
-V. S..
What is needed is not a wondrous once-in-a-lifetime event, that will be amazing but only a memory once it is over; what makes happiness into a lifestyle rather than a situation is what can be found every day. The little moments that bring a smile to your face, if you pay attention to them; the little rays of sunshine, literal or not, that line every corner and only wait to brighten someone’s day.
I also got many answers implying family, nature and a sense of belonging:
Having the time to take time. The sea; warm weather; the songs of Canadian geese and frogs (...). But over all, having a big table with all my kids and my healed husband sitting around it.
-K. L.
For me it’s in nature and peacefulness and in family and friends.
-R. B.
(Happiness is) to be part of a clan. To love and know you are loved. To have the chance to experience what you are planning; to not overly suffer. To have a goal without the frustration to be retrained when you try to put it to action. To see your kids progress.
D. L.
… And accomplishments, of course:
I think my idea is a combination of contentment and fulfillment: having everything I want/need, and having done everything I needed/wanted to.
-N. B.
It’s a feeling I get when I do things I like, or when I am with people I like. I feel it when I am free, when the weather is good, or when I accomplish something.
-S. L.
Other answers implied that happiness is the absence of problems, that it doesn't last very long, or that it was a conscious decision no one else could do for you.
I also loved the words of a friend and fellow author too much not to quote her: ‘’Happiness is the essence of feeling fulfilled and excited in the exact moment you are in'' (N.A.B., you recognize yourself).
Yes, fulfillment, contentment and gratitude were recurring themes; and for good reason. Studies show that a grateful attitude has many physical as well as mental and relational benefits: if you are curious, I found I also loved the words of a friend and fellow author too much not to quote her: ‘’Happiness is the essence of feeling fulfilled and excited in the exact moment you are in'' (N.A.B., you recognize yourself).
Yes, fulfillment, contentment and gratitude were recurring themes; and for good reason. Studies show that a grateful attitude has many physical as well as mental and relational benefits: if you are curious, I found this link presenting various studies on the topic.
I would love to elaborate more on all of this, and I might later on, but I've got to watch my rants, because they sometimes become dozens of pages before I realize it! So bear with me, I'm almost done.
Many of you might know I am a Christian, and so were many (though not all) of those who answered. They shared that their happiness and peace was found in Jesus, who takes care of them and gives them a purpose. To many of them, this was one of, if not the, central piece of what they consider happiness, an essential part of the very meaning of their lives.
To share my own opinion, I myself have experimented (yes, and experienced) trying to live for my own; seeking my personal happiness, one could say. Turns out, my experiment quite failed; those times trying to live for my own sake and without a greater meaning felt empty. This leads to my personal definition of happiness; I do think it has a lot to do with contentment, appreciating small things, reaching goals and being surrounded by people to love. But, for me at least, it wasn't enough to satisfy. I am, for better of for worse, one of those people who always needs a greater purpose to strive for. Something beyond myself and beyond what the passing of time will throw into the abyss of… nothingness?
I randomly asked a lot of people, coworkers included (imagine two cashiers discussing the purpose of life between each customer), what they thought of it. Now, I need to admit that not everyone feels that way; not everyone has a longing for something beyond, and I realized that my definition of happiness, even after researching it and thinking through its little details, was, once again, only one of all those out there.
But, whatever you think of it, I do hope that this compilation of people’s thoughts on the topic of happiness was at least interesting, if not enlightening!
To finish up this article, I would like to thank all of those who participated with their answers and, of course, wish you all dear readers the happiest end of your day!
Until next time,
Vannah
(Note: since people’s vision of happiness can be a sensitive topic, I only had agreed with them to quote them by their initials for confidentiality. I also had to translate a few of the quotes from French to English for this article).
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I love associating music to what I write, so here is another article-related playlist :D
-Pharrell Williams - Happy (Yes, this is still from a kids' movie. I love those).
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