Years ago, I had a repeated conversation with a dear friend
of mine about what it meant to be “happy.” Neither could adequately explain our
concept of what happiness was, but when he disagreed with my idea that it had
to do with contentment, I gathered his sense of it was different than mine.
This elusive concept of happiness; what is it?
When I think back to when I was in early adulthood, I felt
most happy when I was seeking an experience, going someplace new, and feeling like I was living my life with
gusto. As I got a little bit older, my emphasis shifted. I met someone, got
married, had kids, built a home and life in all the ways that we are raised to
believe are related to happiness.
In a nutshell, happiness was about the HIGHS in life.
I had an idea of
what happiness was and what it might look like. What I now see is that it is
possible to have picture perfect moments and experiences in life that make us
feel those highs we think of as happiness, but at the same time have an
undercurrent of discontent.
Another decade has almost passed. The pieces of my puzzle “fell
apart,” and being a single mom, my adventures and ability to live my life with
gusto are slightly reduced. Yet, for some reason, I am content in a way I have
never felt before. My life and heart are full, and I go to sleep each night with
a sense of joy and peace.
Coming back to the original question, what is this elusive
thing we call happiness? Going back to my original thought that it was related
to being content, I took it upon myself to look up the definition of
“content” and this is what it said:
“a state of peaceful
happiness; satisfied, pleased, fulfilled….”
And I let out a deep sigh…. this is what happy feels like.
Many Blessings,
Sheryl
