compiled thoughts on happiness - what is it ?

Happiness is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. Happiness is the undying quest of life, the unquenchable thirst and the insatiable hunger of all human kind. Happiness is what we all seek for, what we long for.

But can such bliss be nothing but an elusive state of mind, which is here one moment and gone the next, or is such a positive outlook attainable for a lifetime? Perhaps it is, it just is.

When you pursue happiness, it eludes you. However, when you recognise that happiness is the soul’s natural state, all you need to do is eliminate all that comes between your happiness and you.

You can never be happy if you harbor thoughts like:

“My mobile is so outdated. I will have to change the model again. I hope this one is good enough for a while.”

“I am so unhappy. Even though I try extremely hard to bring back the happy times into our home, my children just don’t respond.”

Interesting fact is that it is we ourselves who come in the way of us being happy. Abraham Lincoln once said:
“Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

Also, if we ourselves are happy can we think of spreading that happiness. And it’s true that happiness can spread like a virus and it in turn makes you even happier. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:

“Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.”

I wish to end with a quote by Buddha:
“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”