The Search For Happiness

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
― Aristotle

Guess what? I read other blogs. I have several that I greatly enjoy. I read insightful comments on Facebook and Youtube and all over the internet. There is a common topic that appears in some of the most intelligent people across the World Wide Web. It's been approached in a lot of different ways, and it's what has been on my mind a lot lately, but in a bit of an unusual way. I'm sure it's been addressed before, just as everything has been addressed before.

I come across these happiness posts that talk about what people have done in the grand Search for Happiness. Over at Single Dad Laughing, Dan wrote a great post called Stay-Miserable in which he discussed his Search for Happiness. He has left his religion and divorced his wife in the Search. Elsewhere, I've seen a man find happiness in his church, his life, and his family. He offers some specific ideas about happiness in one of his blog posts. Both are powerful.

Everyone searches for happiness in different ways. Everyone has to make a journey of their own that will take them all kinds of places that I have never been. It's all for the sake of the Search. Somehow, everyone actually agrees that happiness is what we should all be ultimately be looking for. (That was a really simplified sentence. I could go on and on about that, but that isn't what this post is about.) Okay, let's go with that. Happiness. That is the goal of life.

How do we achieve happiness? It is even achievable?
Now I sound like a college research paper. Never mind.

What I really want to say is something that a lot of people are going to disagree with, I'm sure. I get the feeling that a very select few will find themselves nodding. It's a hard concept to grasp, and one that my words simply cannot do justice to. This is an idea that goes far beyond words.

Questions like the one stated above, or 'What is happiness?' are questions that I could write volumes on. There isn't an easy answer, but I'm going to try, in this post, to answer them to the absolute core. That means skipping the basics and diving right in, so don't worry too much if you find yourself floundering. I'm kind of a blunt person. I always have to offer the simple, yes/no, honest answer even if it is hard to grasp because the explanation isn't there in full. Just go with me.

There. Is. A. Happiness.

It cannot be put into words. It cannot be fathomed by those who have not felt it. It cannot be explained by those who have. It is so powerful and so driving that it simply does not fit into the human concept of happiness.

Minor example of this concept: Some people say drugs make them happy. Those who don't do drugs in any form of excess understand that happiness is not simply a buzzing, unconcerned satisfaction with everything.

Some people say danger makes them happy (actually, I pass through this phase on occasion). Those who don't engage in dangerous activity understand that happiness is not simply a thrilling, free-spirited moment.

Some people say that they have searched and they are still seeking happiness. Others understand that happiness is a scale, and all of the above can indeed be states of happiness.

Some people believe they are happy. Whatever choices they have made, wherever they are at, they are happy.

There. Is. A. Happiness.

You've made the difficult choices and taken the intelligent route and you are happy. I agree, and I am glad that you are. Everyone deserves to be happy. Really, they do. That is something that I wish on everyone, no matter what they have done. I want everyone to be happy.

Automatically, you see a problem with this. Happiness can come in the form of torture and murder for sociopaths. So let's just say that as long as your happiness doesn't infringe on anyone else's happiness, it can be considered happiness. Sorry, but if it doesn't meet that standard, then it is not happiness, no matter how good it feels. (Again, this is something we could seriously delve into, but I'm trying to keep things short.)

Some rhetorical questions for you to think about: Is there a limit to happiness? Where is the lowest point that can be considered happy? Is there a highest point? Is there a 'real' happiness? What is the highest point of happiness called? Euphoria? Bliss? Is happiness simply a state of being, or something more?

There. Is. A. Happiness.

I'm going to throw out my opinion like it is fact. Maybe it is fact. But I don't want you to fall into a trap created by my words. I want you to know that everything on here is an opinion. It cannot be explained by science, it cannot be contested by reason, and it can absolutely be rejected. Here it is.

There is a happiness that you have never felt. I suspect that the statistics go to about one in...say...five hundred million. One in five hundred million have a true understanding of this happiness. I wonder if I'm being too generous.

I can say that because I do not consider myself one of those five hundred million, but I am someone who has a near understanding of that happiness that cannot be expressed. Enough that I can try to offer you a near understanding of it as well.

The closest English word that matches this happiness is not euphoria or bliss or understanding or serenity or security. The closest word is peace. And let me tell you, peace does not come from peace. Let me say that again. Peace simply does not come from peace.

There. Is. A. Happiness.

Things are hard. The world in cruel. Crueler than I can even comprehend, though I've tried. People are harsh. The mind is troubled. Sometimes, things don't work out. And then it happens again. And again. And again.

This might be the part where those who believe in a God wonder why he would do such things to us. This might be the part where people start doubting because there is no way God is that cruel. At the same time, this may be the point where the atheists are glad there isn't one. Or maybe they wish there was one. Or maybe they just laugh and point at the believers because they would be in such turmoil in this situation.

Peace comes as a result of what you see above. Trial. It is impossible for it to exist indefinitely unless it is in full. The happiness I am explaining doesn't simply stay. It comes and goes and we struggle and it returns. That is, if we've ever even felt it. You haven't felt it, but maybe you've felt an inkling of it. Somewhere deep down, you know it's there, just as I know it's there.

The happiness I am describing is absolutely discoverable. The beauty in it exists in the fact that it cannot always be there, but it can be captured for a time. Would you like me to tell you how?

I could try, but I won't. I know that what I understand about that perfect happiness has come from experience. I do not think there is any other way to learn of it. This knowledge is something you must come to yourself.

There. Is. A. Happiness.

I have lived many years and I doubt that I have the time left to discover the rest of that truth. I know that in this life, I will never completely understand this happiness. Maybe those that come after will understand this faster than I did and will make it farther than I have. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that the Search can either be the wisest move or the biggest waste of time. If you are not searching out the peace and happiness I have tried to describe above, you are wasting your time. No other happiness matters. The Search is important, but make sure you are Searching for the right thing.

I have gotten close. I have felt the peace. I cannot describe it, not even to myself. If there is an afterlife, I will continue to Search. I also understand that in spite of the Search, this happiness comes to me. I do not go to it. It will find me, if I am in the right place. The Search is simply a journey to find that place.

I feel like I have done an extremely inadequate job in explaining the Peace and Happiness that exists somewhere beyond our comprehension. I don't know if I will be around tomorrow to change the topic. But for today, Peace is the true desire, something I am close to but to which I have not arrived.

Peace and Happiness are words that should be explained in detail and understood in their fullness before reading this text. Maybe I'll write a book on them. But that is not important now. You have come this far. Just understand that there is something you may not yet see.Only those who have kept on going in the face of adversity, and at least once suffered from suffocating doubt and insecurity, can feel the completeness of the Search.

If you feel it, you will know. If you get just a taste, you will know. When you feel it, chase it. It will slip away, but you will be closer than you were before if you go after it when it is there. Intrinsically, you know what it is.

Happiness cannot exists without peace. Maybe that is the perfect way to explain all that I have said. True happiness is a combination of both honest happiness and perfected peace.

There. Is. A. Happiness.

Strive for it.

* * *

That being said, don't ever lose sight of yourself. Don't ever lose happiness striving for happiness. Happiness is infinitely simple--maybe that's why it's so hard to explain. Don't ever judge others for decisions they have made that are different from yours. Don't ever think that because you haven't reached It, this thing called Perfection, that you aren't perfect. The perfection that can actually be attained is in the midst of Progression. Simply put...if you've stopped progressing, you've stopped perfecting. Even if you're at the top, you'll find yourself at the bottom. Just keep moving forward, don't look back, and hope to be better in the Search for Happiness.