| Happiness is a butterfly! |
[Apr. 3rd, 2009|02:24 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  busy | ] |
okay, i decided to upload my "happiness" essay since everybody asks for it. but i have to tell you, mine is really general and not as good as my friend's HOPE. there are tense mistakes here and there.. argh! exams are around the corner and i am freaking out. okay let's all do well for the coming exams and study hard. :)
 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/yanks4life23519/2246862848/
Pursuit of Happiness
We often come across articles such as "10 Keys to Happiness" or "20 Ways to Make Yourself Feel Happy" when we are flipping through the magazines of newspapers. However, do those articles really lead you to the pathway of happiness after you read them? Of course, some may say that those articles are really constructive and work for them while some may still feel extremely gloomy. Why is that so? Is it that hard to attain happiness? What is happiness?
The quality or state of being happy and contented is the standard definition for happiness. However, I define Happiness as a state of contentment and at the same time finding inner peace regardless of the circumstances one is in. Happiness is more than just being happy and in a state of contentment. It is inevitable that one may feel that he or she has attained happiness in a situation, while the other may feel that living happily ever after is an impossible thing to attain in that situation. How odd.
Have you ever wondered why two people will react and feel differently given the same situation? I am sure that at this point of time you may be baffled by the word "Happiness". Happiness is something that is immeasurable and imcomparable between people, thus everybody has their own definition of happiness. The "oddity" about happiness is that it carries different definitions for different people because of their unique upbringing, attitude and character, and experience. Thus, this affects everybody's way of defining "happiness". The factors mentioned above are the reason for the presence of self-defining happiness.
The way one is brought up affects how one perceives happiness. When one is brought up in the presence of poverty, one attains happiness even with the slightest simple things or achievements. One does not expect much in their life simply because they have nothing to lose. For example, people living in the third world countries are suffering due to the lack of food and clean water. They do not have proper shelter, and living in such conditions is torturous. Can you imagine how they will feel if they receive food and an abundant supply of clean water, with proper shelter and facilities? The first word that will come to their mind is "happiness". They can finally sleep soundly and peacefully without worrying about sufficient food the next day. They will definitely be contented with their lives as long as there is an adequate food supply and clean water around.
On the other hand, people who are brought up in good living conditions with more than enough food and water, live under shelter that covers more than just their heads, and are given opportunity to study and work do not attain happiness as easily as the ones living in the presence of poverty. It is because these people are brought up in a competitive society where constant stress to do better than others is present, thus happiness seems very hard to achieve. For example, most people living in the first world countries have a plentiful supply of food and water thus they do not have to worry about food and water issues. However, they do not seem happy even with the plentiful supply of necessities.
Their definition of happiness definitely differs a lot from most of the people living in the third world countries. Adequate food supply, clean water and shelter do not make them feel contented at all because they take all these for granted. Instead, an endless cash supply that allows them to buy unlimited amount of high end goods, big houses, et cetera makes them feel more contented. Living in this competitive society, they tend to compare everything they have with their friends, such as wealth and social status. If they conclude that they are much more successful than their friends, it makes them feel that they are on the top of the world and happiness is attained.
Children in the third world countries define happiness as being able to go to school to study and be able to find a job in the minefield so that they can support their family and themselves. However, the students in the first world countries complain about school homework almost every single day. All these show that the upbringing of one shapes the way how people perceive happiness thus definition of happiness differs for different people.
Another reason why people define happiness differently is because of their character differences and the attitude towards life. A person with ambitious character will have high expectations for his or her own life. Therefore, they define happiness as being successful and not losing to their peers in everything. They must not lose out in anyway and they must be the best. When all those conditions are achieved, you can say that they have attained their happiness. However, people who are ambitious will never be satisfied with what they have. Thus, happiness seems to be no where near them.
For people with down-to-earth character, they lead their lives with simple expectations. They do not expect a lot from their lives as long as they live it to the fullest. For example, they may define happiness as having their family members or loved ones around them and having a stable job that gives them a stable income that can last them for as long as possible.
While a person with carefree personality feels that happiness is attained by just doing simple little things. Having no expectations in their lives and they are easy going. For example, happiness is achieved if they are able to just sit down near the beach and read a book quietly every single day or be able to dance in the rain and smell the moist air after the rain. It is interesting that different personalities result in different definitions of happiness.
Lastly, the experiences of one shape the perception of happiness. After going through something major that affects one's life tremendously, one definitely changes their opinions about things, thus the perception of happiness too. For example, a doctor with compassion who saw many sickly patients passed away during his training period may define this happiness as saving as many lives as possible so that he can fine inner peace and contentment. A person who went through a major illness, such as cancer, or experienced the pain of losing their kin may view happiness as simply being alive and having supportive family and friends around.
It is possible that a woman, who once thought that marrying the one she loves defined happiness, may change her opinion of happines if the ends up divorced. When her marriage turns sour, her definition of happiness changes too and may even perceive marriage in a negative light. The different definitions of happiness for different people depend very much on what they went through in their lives. When their thoughts change after an experience, they define happiness differently.
Happiness is something personal to everyone. One's upbringing, character and experience differs from the others, therefore everybody has different definition for happiness. Happiness enables people to smile innocently in their sleep. Since everybody defines happiness differently, how do you define your happiness? This is something that nobody knows except you. |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
soporificstuff's journal
