What Is Happiness
Essay Preview: What Is Happiness
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What is happiness? Websters define happiness as a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. But is happiness just a normal emotion or a higher state of being. I believe in order to achieve happiness the individual who is searching, must look inside his inner self. Only when one is truly happy with himself, will reach this journey. Can anyone reach happiness? Is it the same for everyone? Will I find it; do I think I have it? All these questions and more will be answered in the following paragraph.
Is happiness the same for everyone? A simple answer to this question is obviously no. Happiness could not possibly be the same for everyone, in this entire world. No human being is exactly alike, they may have similar characteristics, but each human overall, can be considered an individual or separate being. God has made us this way, giving us the ability to think and reason with the brain. Considering this idea, I can deduce that people have different have different definitions of the debatable word, happiness. Reflect on the following example. There are two different people Suzzy and Billy. Suzzy is not happy with herself. She feels inadequate. To solve this problem she thinks about the concept of happiness. “What is happiness? What will make me happy? How can I achieve this pinnacle of success?” She ponders to herself. These are her results. “Happiness for me is getting out of this studio apartment, and becoming an affluent millionaire. Once I become wealthy I will be happy for sure. No more problems when I am rich, forever. How I will I achieve this goal? I will play the lottery until I finally win the million dollar jackpot.” She says to herself.
The story of Billy is almost directly opposite of Suzzy story. Billy is unhappy. He may seem happy when he is driving his Mercedes S600 down Pleasant Lane, but this is only a cover up. Why is Billy not happy? He is lonely, only loving his most valuable assets his money and his company. One day as he sits down in his leather recliner chair he thinks about the word happiness. “What is happiness? How will I become happy?” he thinks to himself deeply. “I got it! I will be happy if I find a companion, who I will love, and who will love me, independent of my millionaire status. How will I get her? I know! I will search for singles online.” Billy Said loudly.
Do you see the similarities in both of these characters way of thinking? Both Suzzy and Billy think that the way to achieve happiness is to find something “material”, and this “thing” will revolutionize their lives forever. What do you think? Do you believe those events, which they so desperately beg for will make them happy forever?
As I continue my story we find Suzzy at the convenient store scratching her lottery ticket hastily. Suddenly, I shock comes upon her. She begins to turn florid in the face. What has brought Suzzy to this mysterious fate? She has won 5,000,000 dollars. She is now what I called happy. No more living in that dump. No more borrowing money from parents. No more driving the piece of junk, she once called a car. I am moving on up to millionaires paradise. She rejoiced. After approximately five years of living the “life”, she finds her self in the same state as before. Now, Suzzy starts to realize that happiness is not in all the materials she can achieve, but accepting herself as the person God has created her to be. She knows now that the money she acquired made her feel a transient emotion, happiness. To solve her problems in reality, she must look deep inside her soul, and believe things which are not, as though they were. She must use an affirmation in her daily life, speaking words adamantly into existence. After months of using this device she has achieve the ultimate goal, joyfulness.
Does everyone have the opportunity to attain happiness? Every person has perhaps felt the emotion happiness in one form or another. For example, Suzzy was happy when she won 5,000,000 dollars. As we know now happiness can be gained by all. So this is not the real question, we must ask ourselves. What is the true question we must ask ourselves? The genuine matter we must request of ourselves is that of joyfulness. Does everyone have the opportunity to attain joyfulness? My answer is no. Websters definition of joyfulness is the emotion of great happiness.
Will I find happiness? Do I think I have it? Joyfulness is a more arduous journey when compared to happiness. It may take years