Happiness is something I think about a lot these weeks. What is happiness? Is it the same for everybody? Can it be kept? Is it plan-able? Is it coincidence?
First thing I start to recognise is, that happiness is a fragil condition. While you can achieve satisfaction and keep it over time, happiness feels like harder to achieve and super hard to keep.
Second is, that happiness is a deflection of the curve of life. It means that you feel happiness, but this is not the constant level of your life curve. Just the same like sadness – there are times of sadness, but you are not all the time sad.
Third, there is not a standard recipe for happiness. Simply because in our life, we have different situations that “require” different ingredients to feel happiness at this very specific moment. It is different many times.
Forth, if you are alert and present to look for happiness, chances are much higher to get to this stage. There is a word (I never heard before I was doing some research) – serendipity – which is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Let me give an example: You are digging a hole in your yard to bury your hamster and finding a treasure chest of jewels (found this example actually really funny…). If you are open minded and present, if you are even actively looking for happiness, you will find many, even small, things that can get you the feel of happiness. Guess what happens, if you are not alert and present. You can even look at somebody that can bring happiness, but you most likely look through her/him and move on.
Fifth, happiness comes by opportunity and the ability to connect these opportunity points. Often it is not a single thing, but a serious of points, a flow, that can lead to more happiness.
And finally, one cant push happiness to happen. It is all around, but you cant force it.