Happiness: It is Not Given, but Fought For

My country celebrated its birthday just yesterday, it was a joyous national event. In the midst of the celebrations, the citizens were reciting the pledge as one. It was a indeed a touching moment to share, when everyone has disregarded our differences and stood up as one; one united nation.

And then it came to me in a flash, flashes of my childhood back in school, when we were presumably forced to recite the pledge at the daily row call. It was a chore, a chore that we soon made fun of it and never took it seriously. Those were the days of innocence. Now, what caught my attention this time, was one sentence of the pledge; "...based on justice and equality so as to achieve Happiness..". I recalled reading up on "The Declaration of Independence" where one line stood up as well; "...and the pursuit of Happiness..".

It seems that our forefathers across the globe has acknowledged and highlighted that happiness is indeed, something to be pursued and to be achieved, and not given easily nor taken lightly. However, it has always been the nature of humans to take things for granted and ever so lightly, never treasured.

Happiness is the basis of the quality of our lives, and of those around us. It is intangible, unseen and yet has tremendous effects on our lives. It is magical and transferable, transferable to other areas of our lives. It is measured differently by different individuals, some feel it more than others. Having things go your way on a good day, would in turn, be spread to your co-workers at work greeted by your warm smile on a cold Monday morning. Having napped a big project at work, would in turn, be brought forward to your romantic dinner with your significant other half in the evening, greeted by a confident and the all-smiles you.

Picture it as a pendulum bob, where one good contact transfers its energy to another bob and on and on. It is that magical.

As you can see, we all know the effects of being happy. But not many of us are able to control and maintain that emotional state within us through an extended period. And within this extended period of high energy, imagine how many more individuals you could have reciprocated that favor and touched their lives.

If you could do it, would you have chosen not to do it and scurry back into the hermit's shell?

Now, I hope I have caught your attention enough to keep you reading through the next portion; a little checklist of my own.

What makes you happy?
- It is important to know what makes you happy, so that you can pick up the signs subconsciously or consciously. Similarly, it is just as important to understand what makes you unhappy, such that you could choose to avoid such events if possible.

- By knowing what makes you happy, you'll be able to give thanks and show your gratitude. Remember, nobody is indebted to anyone when it comes to happiness, everyone of us wants to be happy ourselves. By showing gratitude where it's due, that happiness is reciprocated. And what goes around, does come around in this tightly woven globe.

Why does it makes you happy?
- Knowing what makes you happy is just a start, knowing why it makes you happy helps in understanding the dynamics behind. Having been greeted warmly in the morning makes you feel good, the dynamics behind it is that you've felt welcomed. By offering to get coffee for you on your co-worker's way would have made you feel just as welcomed.

How does it make you happy?
- Let's face it, each individuals has their own measurement of happiness, of feeling good. When a person feels happy, he has been made to feel good about the event, about the other person, and about himself. We all feel good at different levels and events, it is important for us to understand what is our 'feel good' button.

Happiness can be achieved from the little things around us, onlyif we let ourselves to be. It boils down to our level of sensitivity, level of gratitude, and level of satisfaction.

Would you have chosen to be happy if you could let yourself to be?