What Makes You Happy?
As the election results came in this morning I kept thinking of a single line from the Declaration of Independence, you know that part about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”? I couldn’t help but wonder who was feeling what this morning.
For some these election results are exactly what they dreamed of, and for others they feel more like a nightmare. One person feels a greater liberty this morning, another feels less free than they did yesterday. I can understand the need to list life and liberty in such an important document but I’ve always wondered why the founding fathers felt the need to list happiness.
On the one hand I can see the importance of happiness, but at the same time a lot of the basics of happiness can be found in life and liberty. So why single out the pursuit of happiness out for special mention? I wonder if they knew that even now all these years later we’d find ourselves pursuing happiness more often than simply enjoying it.
So what makes you happy? For some people it’s their kids and their spouse, it could be work or a favorite hobby, travel, helping others, planning an upcoming wedding. We write books on happiness, take surveys on how happy we are compared to other nations. Advertisers will tell you that happiness is bug business. With all this talk of happiness you’d think it would be commonplace, or at least easier to find.
I saw a video today, Which Path Will You Take? that asked if maybe the reason we have trouble finding happiness is because we’re looking in the wrong place. Watch the video – it’s only five minutes – and see what you think. (The video will load in a new page. You can also access it by clicking the image at the top of this post.)
Where do you look for happiness?
I look for happiness within myself. Yes others can make us happy or even things
but they are temporary. The politically correct reply would be that God makes me happy. I see God like a parent and my parents don’t make me happy all the time.
That may be some inspirational stuff. Never realized that opinions may very well be this different.
One thing we forgot about this election was that it was mostly based on lies and distortion. So where is the liberty in an election that showed how much hatred and division exists in the American society? And if the electors were fed hatred, racisim and were really hijacked by politicians who insultd their intelligence then the outcome for both sides especially christians should not be described as happiness but a sad event. One can only get happiness from God and adhering to his teachings of truth. So find other examples to show where we to get happiness?
I agree with Remmy who said Happiness is a choice. For me, I find Happiness in being able to helping somebody, being in love and staying connected with God, whom i believe puts the whole piece together
I became happy when I realized that everything was connected, and I was a part of things, and could make the universe a better place just by letting go of my guilt and self-loathing. I’d spent my entire life thinking that if I could just listen and behave and fall in line, I could join the rest of the human race and find happiness. But there didn’t have to be any conditions. In fact, finding happiness was the first step, not the last.
we are searching what is within us. Happiness is a choice, we decides what upset or disturbs us hence it leaves one to decide what him or her happy. Like what make one person happy makes another feel bad. It is what they both choose. For me i find happiness in closeness to God.
wow happiness. coming from a country like mine(Uganda) guess makes me incompetent to comment about such things as happiness or as one said means to pursue it. on top of that my age would discredit me. but when Jim says happiness changes it freaks me out, coz in my experience am longing for a source happiness that can last, one that just doesn’t disappear the moment i get the object from which i thought i would find it. Does that even exist? coz i have longed, or better still long for it.
Happiness is snuggled up in a quiet spot within you.
You need only be still and silent and allow it to unfold until it eventually engulfs you.
Live Life Happy!
Maybe I’m misunderstanding the point of this article however, we need to know that it wasn’t happiness the Founding Fathers were ensuring but rather the ability to pursue happiness. The Declaration of Independence doesn’t in any way ensure we will be happy, it provides assurance that we will have the freedom to pursue it. The ability to pursue happiness, whatever that may be for any one individual, is what separates us from any other country. Happiness is also not a static thing as it may change over time. For one, a career may be their pursuit, another may be a large family, and another simply a job or to own their own home. The fact that we are free to pursue these things is the key to liberty.
Maybe we’re saying the same things, I just felt I needed to clarify.