According to Webster's Dictionary happiness is described as "a state of well-being and contentment; a pleasurable satisfaction."
Society measures happiness in a myriad of ways: money, kids, marriages, houses, cars, phones, etc. The key being it is a measured thing.
I've always thought of happiness as a feeling of peace and contentment with where I am and what is happening in my life. I envisioned it as a perpetual state of being. In reality, for me, it has been measured by different incidences that have taken place in my life from the birth of my children, to finding God, to getting jobs, and most recently to my husband finding me.
Why are you doing this project? I know that I am blessed. I know that things in my life are better than they have ever been in some ways. And, if I had to choose an emotion to describe where I am in my life right now, I would say that I am happy. But deep down a part of me feels that there is something missing. I know that my happiness has been a fleeting thing and I want to find out how to make it permanent. That is hard though with all the obstacles that one faces on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
What is your history in trying to be more happy? I grew up equating happiness and love synonymously and have spent my entire life looking for love/happiness. I've gone to counseling, and read tons of self-help books. I've done journaling, blogging, praying, talking, eating, drinking, and drugs (prescription) in my quest for happiness. The things that worked best for me have been counseling, journaling, blogging, my husband and most especially, my walk with God. I've found that I am the happiest when I am doing things for others versus stuff for myself. I truly enjoy serving and being a part of something much bigger than myself which is why I volunteer. In some ways it might be considered running from my life so I don't have to think about whether or not I'm happy but for me it's a way of tangibly feeling something without trying to.
What does happiness look like for you? I don't know. That is what I'm hoping to discover on this journey. This intersects with other things I have been working on like discovering who I am, what my purpose is here and where my sweet spot is. I envision that it has a lot of looks for me but instead of being fleeting it will be perpetual.
You did such a great job with this - MUCH better than me, who cranked that out while anxiously looking at my stack of essays to grade and grumbling resentfully at Rich "this is not making me HAPPY right now, this is making me STRESSED".
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