- According to Wikipedia: Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.[1] A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources.
- Dictionary.Com says: –adjective,-pi·er, -pi·est. 1. delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing: to be happy to see a person. 2. characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy: a happy mood; a happy frame of mind. 3. favored by fortune; fortunate or lucky: a happy, fruitful land. 4. apt or felicitous, as actions, utterances, or ideas. 5. obsessed by or quick to use the item indicated (usually used in combination): a trigger-happy gangster. Everybody is gadget-happy these days.
- Merriam-Webster's definition: 1 : favored by luck or fortune : fortunate 2 : notably fitting, effective, or well adapted : felicitous 3 a : enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment
happiest person I know> b : expressing, reflecting, or suggestive of happiness c : glad, pleasedhappy> c : enthusiastic about something to the point of obsession : obsessedhappy — Helen Rowen>
The list goes on and on. My point being that everyone has a different definition for what "happy" means. In order to know if you're "happy" or fulfilled in your own life, don't you need to know how you, yourself define it? For me, happy means many things:
- Surrounded by loving friends and family
- Taking notice of the simple, beautiful joys in everyday life
- Discovering and learning new things about the world and myself
- Waking up each morning to the opportunity to make every day wonderful
- Sharing positive thoughts and stories with those around me
I recently read this and I have turned it over in my mind many times - "Joy is becoming closer to who you are."
ReplyDeleteHey, funny that this is your topic today--I just watched last nights "Men of a Certain Age" and the ending had Ray Romano's character saying he googled the word "happy." Anyway--for me, I think Happiness is being present in the moment. When I get too busy worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, it makes today somewhat miserable...and I then go to bed thinking how I wasted my day. --Stefanie
ReplyDeleteI Googled "happiness" and found Candice's blog:)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I think happiness is a state of mind. The real source of happiness lies in the mind, not in external circumstances. Like choosing our attitude, we can choose to be happy!
Did you know that happiness can be contagious?! Studies show that a happy person can have a positive impact on people 3 degrees away. Woo hoo!
Thanks for the comments!!!
ReplyDelete