Are You Happy?

Thinking about happiness used to be a simple concept for me to grasp.  My car, nice clothes, money.  Those things made me happy.  Now happiness seems to encompass a whole new realm, simply because there are many ways to look at it. 

I was reading a great book about an excellent writer and Trappist Monk, Thomas Merton.  He wrote about happiness and freedom in a way that caught my attention.  This is what I got out of it…

Certain aspects within society, along with material objects, give us the illusion of what happiness looks like.  These “things” often leave us feeling emptier than before. “They may promise freedom, but… if anyone is dominated by anything, then he or she is a slave to it” (Simsic).  

Then this got me thinking about the relationships we create with others, and how much we rely on certain people to make us happy.  Do we place certain expectations on boyfriends, girlfriends, best buds, or parents?  Expectations and promises that, if not met, could lead to unhappiness?   I know I have.  

We become trapped.  We say to ourselves that we are not worth anything unless we are with another person or have a 52" flat screen TV.  That we will not be happy unless we have this, this, and this in our life.

I think we need to try and figure out what our own inner happiness looks like.  And we should strive to reach it despite what others say or do.  We need to know  and understand that happiness so we can GIVE that happiness away to others, rather than rely on getting it from somone/ something else.

I want to be comfortable with myself, regardless of who or what is in my life.  Can I one day say to myself, “I love what I do.  I am my own person and stand up for what I believe in.  And no matter what others in my life say or do, I am happy with who I am and who I have become”. 

Can you?