“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” Aristotle
Wow, that’s a big introduction…. the meaning, purpose, and whole aim of life…..
If Aristotle is right, then it seems that most of us are missing the point of life. We are caught up working long hours trying to make a living, consuming too much stuff (much of which we don’t need), and worrying what other people think about us!
While a lot of the stuff that consumes our time is ‘important,’ maybe we could just stop what we are doing, turn our busy minds down, and just allow ourselves to be happy…. For no reason other than IT MAKES UP HAPPY! It’s a choice, right?….. Are you willing to spend a few moments to help heal your body, mind, and emotions, by choosing to be happy, RIGHT NOW?
“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.” Carl Jung
So even though Aristotle believes happiness is the whole aim of life, I believe he also knew that as yet it is unattainable for the majority of humanity. You see, we come from a spiritual realm and descend into these physical forms (human bodies) to embark on an adventure called “LIFE.”
Life is a schoolyard, a learning center where we play and get to experience duality. Up means there is a down, Left implies that right exists, in has its opposite in out, and happy cannot exist without sad! Having one state permanently (being happy all the time) would lose its meaning and appeal if we did not know its partner.
I know that it’s counter-intuitive for most of us, but we need to embrace the opposites (the sadness) so that we can also experience when we are happy. One cannot exist without the other.
“It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.” Dale Carnegie
Yes! Happiness is often defined as a pleasant emotional state that is characterized by feelings of contentment, joy, gratification, satisfaction, and well-being. And what causes us to have certain feelings?…… it’s the thoughts we are thinking. So our feelings at any time are brought about by our thoughts, not because of what we have or don’t have, what we have achieved or didn’t achieve, BUT SOLELY BECAUSE OF WHAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THE THINGS WE HAVE OR DON’T HAVE, ACHIEVED OR HAVEN’T ACHIEVED, ETC.
Our thoughts are the INNER FORCE driving our whole life, and if we want to be happy, we can choose to be, regardless of what is happening in our ‘outer world.’ Even if a situation arises that would be deemed sad, WE CAN react with ‘peace and equanimity.’
“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” Charles Spurgeon
How much we enjoy is determined, once again and always, by the thoughts that are traversing our minds. Thinking about happy memories, happy outcomes, happy futures, is a sure-fire way to temporarily change our state into one of happiness. We cannot think happy thoughts and be anything but happy. Equally so, it is a fact that we cannot think of negative thoughts and be happy!
OUR THOUGHTS DETERMINE OUR STATE OF BEING (feeling) AT ALL TIMES.
“If a person’s basic state of mind is serene and calm, then it is possible for this inner peace to overwhelm a painful physical experience. On the other hand, if someone is suffering from depression, anxiety, or any form of emotional distress, then even if he or she happens to be enjoying physical comforts, he will not really be able to experience the happiness that these could bring.” Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
Back to Aristotle’s thoughts that happiness is the meaning, purpose, and whole aim of life. Ok, but to be happy all the time, we need to have taken control of our ‘Monkey Mind.’ The Buddhists refer to our unsettled, restless, capricious, whimsical, fanciful, inconstant, confused, indecisive, and uncontrollable thoughts as emanating from our monkey mind. These are thoughts that produce feelings and actions/reactions that we do not necessarily intend, or want, to happen.
For up to ninety-five percent of each day, we are operating in auto-pilot mode and are not consciously choosing what to think and feel. These thoughts are a product of information stored in our subconscious mind and reveal themselves when we are not ‘living consciously.’
An unsettled and confused mind is often caused by thinking about the past or future and which means we are not paying attention to the present moment. When we learn to return our attention to the present moment, we can look for and find serenity, peace, and happiness in the smallest of details.
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Denis Waitley
To travel to, to own, to earn, to wear, and to consume, are all things we experience in our ‘outer world,’ that which is exterior to us. ‘US’ is the ‘inner world’ of thoughts and feelings, and this is the only place where we can experience happiness….. within ourselves, independent of what is happening outside of us.
“How simple it is to see that we can only be happy now, and there will never be a time when it is not now.” Gerald Jampolsky
You can’t be happy tomorrow, because, as the saying goes, ‘tomorrow never comes.’ We can be happy because of something that is going to happen tomorrow, which means we are thinking about it, and feeling the happiness right now, at this very moment. And this is the only moment we ever have, and that is why it is called the ‘present moment.’ Remember that a present also means a gift!
“Your happiness is the most significant contribution that you could make. In your reaching for happiness, you are opening a vortex which makes you an avenue for the Well-being to flow through you. And anything that is your object of attention under those conditions, benefits by the infusion of your Well-being.” Abraham Hicks
Ah….. so, when you think about it, it is our responsibility, and our duty to be happy, so that all of those we surround ourselves with, will benefit. Imagine the opposite for a split-second. If our energy or feelings are hostile and negative, what effect is this having on those that we love and those that depend on us?
Consciously choosing to be happy not only helps us but helps raise the vibration of all those we come into contact with….. You may think that some people don’t deserve your happiness or your forgiveness because of all the bad things they have done. BUT REALIZE THIS: YOU DESERVE YOUR HAPPINESS! Nothing else is as important as realizing this one simple fact: You deserve your happiness and you can choose to be happy right now!
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha
Following on from the previous quote by Abraham Hicks, the Buddha gets straight to the heart of the matter!
How do we want our immediate environment to be? Do we wish to be surrounded by loving, caring, nurturing, and happy people? I think any ‘normal’ person would say yes to this. So if this is not our current reality, but it is what we want, we can become the candle that shines a light on others to inspire them. And without consciously knowing it, they will in turn infect others with their happiness….. such a simple thing to do, and so rewarding for all people that we come into contact with, and that they come into contact with, and so on. I wonder how many people you can infect with happiness today, and tomorrow, and the next day?……….
“Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest.” Sri Chinmoy
Happiness is not a fixed quantity. It comes in varying degrees and again the degree to which we can achieve happiness is dependent on our state of being. The highest ideal for us is to achieve a state of absolute, unconditional, love. Love never judges, never complains, never wishes things were different, and never holds a grudge.
This state of being requires that we live our lives consciously and deliberately with the intent to make the world a better place for all beings. This state of being, in absolute happiness, depends on our realizing that all life is connected and interdependent and that ALL THAT EXISTS is there for our benefit, our growth and development, and for our enjoyment.
Learn to see the connection in ALL things and you will be amazed by the beauty and complexity of ALL life.
By looking deeply into our circumstances we will begin to realize that nothing happens to us by chance. All things that occur are a consequence of ATTRACTION. Our thoughts create our feelings and our feelings resonate at a particular vibration to draw to us circumstances that match our vibration.
If our predominant thoughts are about feeling unloved and unappreciated, then we will attract people and circumstances into our lives to confirm this ‘reality’ or vibration that we have created for ourselves!
We can all, right now, begin to change our thoughts to change our world. Choose happy thoughts now to begin to raise your vibration to attract more love, joy, and happiness into your life! Why wouldn’t you?
“Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.” St. Augustine
Haha….. Great quote!
I think we were ripped off when we graduated from school. Our modern education systems teach us accounting, geography, math, language, etc, but they don’t teach us how to be happy! We are not educated about our place in the world and about how what we persistently think about affects our future life circumstances and therefore the quality of our lives.
What we are taught is: if we obey the rules, get good grades (happy), we can get a good job, (happy) and earn good money, (happy) and buy a house, (happy) get married and have kids, (happy) work for forty years to pay the mortgage, raise our kids, (happy) and then retire, (happy).
Sure, there are many things that we can be happy about, (I hope) each and every day. Life is great. But when we are always looking forward to the next milestone to be happy, we are missing the opportunities to be happy in all the steps along the way (the present moment).
Remember: Life is a journey, not a destination. As Eleanor Roosevelt said:
“Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.”
Happiness is the by-product of living life consciously and enjoying ALL OF THE STEPS ALONG THE WAY!
Some more quotes that I hope will inspire you to choose happiness.
“There is no way to happiness — happiness is the way.” Thich Nhat Hanh
“Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.” Margaret Lee Runbeck
“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” L.M. Montgomery
“So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?” Hunter S. Thompson
“There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.” Freya Stark
“Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you.” Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
“Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.” Lou Holtz
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Confucius
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” Ernest Hemingway
“Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.” Elbert Hubbard
“We can’t control the world. We can only (barely) control our own reactions to it. Happiness is largely a choice, not a right or entitlement.” David C. Hill
“The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.” Epictetus
I wish lots of love, joy, and untold happiness, for you and those that you care about,
Shared with love and respect for all souls that choose to play the game of life!
Andrew
Andrew,
Thanks for this reminder to seek out happiness, and the inspirational quotes within. I think my favorite has to be the following:
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Confucius
At first, I didn’t see quite how it fits in with the rest of the article, but there really is enough complexity in the Universe as it is, and simplifying things is a great way to find happiness.
I know my wife would prefer the quote from Anne of Green Gables:
“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” L.M. Montgomery
In any case, as someone who deals with Depression regularly, happiness and enjoyment can be hard to find at times, but it’s always worth looking for, even if you rarely find it.
Thanks again for this piece,
Sean
Hi Sean. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my post.
I don’t know why Confucius quoted what he did, but it resonates with me because I see so many people rushing around worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, and more than likely will not happen. Or they keep rehashing the past and wishing that things had turned out differently. To me, this seem to be a waste of energy and not very productive at all.
Our time and energy is better spent by enjoying the present moment, as it is only now that we can experience happiness.
I hope that you are able to find a little more happiness each and every day. If so, before long, it will become you new stateof being.
I wish you all the best,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
As I started reading I wondered to myself, “Is he going to mention one of my favourite quotes?”
I got to about the halfway stage, “Hmm, no mention of it yet.”
And then finally, there it was, well in passing anyway. The quote that resonates with me most, and that has potentially had the biggest impact on me, in terms of life and happiness.
I believe it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who originally coined the phrase, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey”.
I know this has been altered and regurgitated in various forms, i.e. success, accomplishments, learning, etc.
However, you did allude to this in your explanation of the very first quote by Aristotle, so all is forgiven my friend, LOL.
This is something that I have learned and started to accept.
Many of us view happiness as a symbol of something that we’ve achieved or a specific goal we would like to reach.
But, as you’ve said, we’re pretty much missing out on happiness in the meantime.
Things such as a dream holiday, dream home, dream car, and a few million in the bank are all fantastic things to aim for, but we typically miss out on the here-and-now by focusing our minds on potential future “happiness”.
It’s also weird to say, but are people truly happy once they’ve achieved any of these things?
I’m sure someone such as the Dalai Lama or the Buddhist Monk who have provided some beautiful quotes on this page would say that material wealth doesn’t equal happiness.
For me, I like to sprinkle a little bit of happiness into my daily life, every single day if possible.
Okay, I may not be travelling to exotic destinations on a daily basis or driving around in a ferrari, but seeing someone I love laugh, enjoying my favourite meal, or watching a beautiful sunrise, all bring me such joy and light up my heart.
You’ve added some fantastic quotes here, and funnily enough, even reading them all brings a certain sense of happiness too.
This was lovely to read Andrew.
Thank you
Partha
Hi Partha.
It’s the journey, it’s the journey. “seeing someone I love laugh, enjoying my favourite meal, or watching a beautiful sunrise, all bring me such joy and light up my heart.” You are onto it! This is where the magic of life is. If we are happy in these ‘small’ moments during the day, then they all add up to a wonderful and enjoyable overall life experience.
It’s actually easier to be happy than it is to not be happy…. happiness seems to be wired into us as part of our default programming, and it takes away our energy when we are not happy.
I wish you all the best, and a very happy day, my friend 🙂
Andrew
Hi Andrew, the most uplifting quote you have put here is “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.” Lou Holtz.
And the most negative one this one “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” Ernest Hemingway. It’s a variation of ‘if you think too much you can’t be happy’. And I disagree. 🙂
We always have preferences, haven’t we. It doesn’t mean of course I don’t like your article, because I think it’s very uplifting as a whole.
It reminded me of my mother after her inevitable admission to a care home. Every day she looked at the scrapbooks she had carefully made after each holiday and said: “Right, nobody can take that away from me. Look at all the things I have done and seen. Isn’t it amazing? And now I can relive it by looking at the pictures.” I admired her immensely for her capability of doing that. Especially since there are a lot of complaining people in a care home that not only have a miserable life themselves but want their environment to feel miserable as well.
Hi Hannie. Yes, we certainly do each have our own preferences, and that’s a really good thing. Life would be very boring if we were all the same.
I Think Earnest Hemingway must have been surrounded by very boring people who he thought were intelligent to make the above statement. I’m not sure why he just didn’t go out and associate with a different, more fun, group of people?
Your mum has a great attitude. I remember my grandmother living in an aged care village, in her own apartment, just waiting to die. It was the saddest thing ever that she had no interest in making new friends. She lived until 98 years old and lost my grandfather 20 years prior to her passing.
Sometimes I wonder what it is that makes people ‘tick We can be so different from even those we are close to. But then I remember that the best way for me to make a positive difference in the world is just to be as happy as I can be.
Thanks for sharing, and have a great day,
Andrew