A Great piece of writing with some great ideas ….

Happiness as a simple state that one can acquire is, as far as I am concerned, a gross oversimplification. It is as transient as any of our emotions or moods, and yet seems to become a simply stated goal.

If we are just looking for happiness, then it is possible that we miss out on life in its broadest sense. A sense of ‘Happiness’, I might argue, comes from what we do rather than what we can become.

The challenge from some spiritual perspectives, is that by becoming attached to this singular dimension of the human condition not only do we immediately create its opposite (unhappiness) but we also seek to disconnect from ‘life’ and ‘what it is’ and aspire to ‘life’ and ‘what it isn’t’.

As the Stoics stated, any event in our lives is defined by the importance and I emotional relevance we place upon it. If our lives lack happiness, then, perhaps it is because we are predisposed to define events as being shrouded in unhappiness.

In Buddhist teaching there is the idea that ‘Spring follows Winter’ and ‘Night Follows Day’ so by knowing there is a feeling of unhappiness we also know that happiness will follow. That is assuming, of course, that we choose to become attached to happiness.

From a psychological perspective, there are activities that increase an individual’s personal sense of ‘happiness’. Something I explore in my book The Secret to Your Future History.

Sorry, I seem to have gone on and on, but that’s because you’re writing triggered these thoughts…

Thank YOu