Happiness

I have been reading/listening a fair bit about this topic recently. I don’t know why but have not really thought about it so that is what I will do here to the extent I can.

It is not that I feel unhappy or happy recently. I do not. Or may I should say ‘I do not know’ if I am being completely honest with myself. Because I do not really know what happy means. And how do I measure it. It is obviously different from feeling joy or peaceful or tranquil or exhilarated or content or a mix of all of the above. The way the word was originated in different languages is different and mostly associated with good luck and prosperity. Although I doubt most people think of that when they think of happiness. At least I wouldn’t think of these if I was asked to define happiness. ‘Emotional well-being’ is what I see when I ask mighty Google. When I look up the meaning of ‘well-being’ it says ‘happy’. There is a circular reference which is never helpful.

What I know is that I have a lot to be grateful for and I know there is not a lot that I want more from my life that I think will make my life any better. I am physically and mentally pretty healthy, at least for my age. I have people who love me and care for me and who I love and care about. By the typical definition of career success, I feel I have achieved a lot more in life than I ever dreamt of or even what my parents expected from me. I do not compare myself to others, I am not competitive, I don’t envy anyone, I do not want anybody’s life. I don’t have any unachieved major goals in life. I believe in a supreme power especially because I cannot disprove it. Most signs prove the existence but not specifics. And I do not know the purpose of life. I think the last one is a problem :)

Maybe there is a unified purpose or individual purpose that each one of us is there to serve. It could be at the cells level or individual person level or humanity level or living beings level. I do not know. What I know is that nobody knows. And maybe no one will ever know at least in my lifetime. But that also means that we have the freedom to create our own purpose as we deem fit and what keeps us motivated and make us feel alive and rocking and maybe…happy — the way we define it for ourselves. Btw, I have defined my purpose of life at least for now. And it is to experience life in the best way I can. Experience all emotions, all environments, all situations, all fears, all risks, all way of living. By ‘all’ I mean whatever I can experience in this lifetime with all the limitations. Maybe I should try to limit the limitations, wherever I can control them.

I have read a few books recently on ‘Happiness’ and the way it is prescribed to be happy, I think I have been following most of it, if not all. I think if one wants a logical conclusion of how to be happy, the ‘Conquest of Happiness’ by Bertrand Russel is really good. Very basic but very real. ‘The Art of Happiness’ by Dalai Lama is quite cool too. And I read Arthur Brooks recent book, with him being the ‘Happiness’ researcher it gives some scientific perspective. But problem with science is that you only know what you know as of now. And this is a new field of scientific study so you cant really take all the surveys and the measurement to be correct. He has referenced Buddhism often in his book too. Anyways — these books are food for thought. The thought and our journey to be happy, whatever way we define it, should be our own. I would be really surprised if there is only one way.

And then it is also important to think how important happiness is for us. What is wrong with unhappiness. Or a mix of the two which makes it more complete. Some emotions are definitely wasted and do not help us e.g. Envy or Jealousy. Other negative emotions do have a purpose. I always believed it and most of these books also say that so I am aligned, and it is not some contrarian view even though it may sound like one.

I really have no idea what I am trying to think. I do not think I am getting anywhere. So will leave this topic in play to explore further. Nothing meaningful so far that I gather from here. Maybe next one will be more useful. But it is possibly world’s most favorite topic so definitely worth spending more time. Until next time…