What is happiness? And how do you become happy? What are the main criterion for happiness? Is it owning a lot of money, having a lot of friends, being healthy, haveing a flourishing lovelife etc?
IMO, an individual state - fleeting and not stable. This state depends on your inner contentness. Happiness has many faces => sometimes triggered by your senses (eyes, ears, mouth, skin etc.) - a smell you like very much, reminding you of something, e.g. even the scent of your favourite cake, a flower, perfume. The blooming flowers, the sprouting green in spring, certain music - loving, being loved - the soft fur of your pet. Solving a difficult problem or a tedious task. For some it is embedded in friendships/relationships - or having certain possessions (involves money) - for some it's the self-made wooden table where the family gathers around in the evening. For some (after having survived a great disease) it's regaining their former strength. Actually, it's the small things that make happy. The ones you appreciate, the ones your are aware of, the stuff you might have missed without knowing and have regained - getting a PC game finally you have waited so long for and enjoying to play - reading the book you have waited for.
For people like me => it's coming home to myself, being together with my cat, feeling her satisfaction when I stroke her and she purrs. For me, it's the sincere smile of a library member, who is happy with the stuff I found for her/him. The sun rays outside, the snow flakes, changing nature in general. Mutual laughter with my best friend, when I can enjoy her eyes lighting up. Hearing her voice and feeling the love and trust between us - bonds I feel to people in general, when they are mutual. The newborn fish in my tank (so, I know I did everything right about their environment). The way my garden plants respond to my care and bloom. Writing long posts and knowing a certain Übereil will wince at them <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" />
Becoming happy? => listening to yourself and asking yourself what you'd like to feel happy. It does not always require consumer goods - sometimes, it's even the compassionate ear of a friend listening to your sorrow.
Criterion => hm, I feel happiness like a golden globe in my chest area. I feel bubbly and light, have an inner amile, could bounce or squeak (yeah, I do that sometimes <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" /> ) Kiya
