What is happiness ?

What makes a person to be happy ?

I have to admit it that I'm young,I have 16 years old and I don't have too much life experience but my main philosophy about life is to be happy and it doesn't matter how. Some rich people suicide whitout reason,even if they have a lot of money,their are healthy and they also have a family.I also see unhappy celebrities who take drugs or suicide (Amy Winehouse,MIchael Jackson and so on).e.Other cases involves teenagers who suicide,complaining about how hard life is because they don't have the thing they wanted.... or the fact that other teenagers/adults suicide because of a girl,woman/boy,man they have a crush on or they fall in love with and that girl/boy has boyfriend/gilfriend or married and so on (there are a lot of stupid reasons that made some teenagers/adults to suicide...).There are also people who set out life goals or objectives,like a dream-job or a family and many others and after they achieve those goals they realise they still are unhappy.
This cases are few..but unfortunately there are...

But I see poor people,ussualy few of them, who are happy with simple things and they don't expect too much from their lives or they don't want to achieve something like a collegge degree or to become rich.I know cases of rich people who giveaway all their money and then they live in an isolated place from the rest of the world with their familiy or alone,living a simple life out there.Other feel happy in weird ways (I say weird ways seen by other people but i think that "weird" and "normal" involves another philosphy which I want to discuss in a future thread of mine) like living in the nature communicating with animals,people who collect antiques or other simple stuff and they feel happy when they are near their collection and many other cases which involves "weird ways" of beeing happy.

I ask this question again:What is happiness .I believe it has a deep meaning and it involves a big philosophy around this subject.
Thank you for giving attention to this thread and I am waiting for your replies

Since you're only 16, you won't get it, but one day, remember:

"You are only as happy as your saddest child."

Happiness... is going to mean something different to each person.

Me Personally, my wife, my dogs, my cats... being away from the rat race, enjoying the little things in life. Like a perfect sunrise, or sunset, watching the moon cross the sky with the people important in my life.

each person has to find that place that helps them get up each morning to face each challenge and push on.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Yes,you are right,"rich people" will consider you poor because they consider that money brings happiness,but sometimes if you look at them deep you can see that something isn't alright....It was just an example,don't feel awkward,for me a happy person is an achieved person and for me you have achieved something big .

a reply to: PaulTheDuke

IMO, happiness is a state of mind, and therefore a simple choice.

It's why people who have very little can be happy and people who have a lot can be miserable.

Perspective is everything in life.

a reply to: loam

Yeah...a simple choice,still needs more time for a lot of us to choose it

a reply to: PaulTheDuke

Happiness is the promise of satisfaction. It has no deep meaning.

a reply to: PaulTheDuke

Wow, 16 huh.. I don't think I was thinking very deep at 16.

Some say the reason for unhappiness is greed, and not accepting what is.

----

I am no expert at happiness; have not been very happy since having a fallout with many old friends.

originally posted by: loam
a reply to: PaulTheDuke

IMO, happiness is a state of mind, and therefore a simple choice.

It's why people who have very little can be happy and people who have a lot can be miserable.

Perspective is everything in life.

Wanting causes suffering since the difference between what you want and what you get in this experience on earth will make you feel bad. And not all beings are good at bending fate to get what they want (might not even know what they want) so they will not succeed where some are just very lucky/synchronous.

There is the though world depression and then there is the biological problems in you body that can follow the though world depression. Then there is the people who achieve the bliss state where their body are naturally high they can smile while even while being though world depressed and thinking of life on earth as being in a lower level hell dimension.

True happiness is from my point of view being in a place that gives you the things that you need on all levels both emotionally and physical to the level where the difference between you and me do no longer exists.

Happiness is a relative emotion. Relative being the key ingredient. You can only experience happiness in the moment, even if it is based on a memory or an imaginative state of mind.

So what is this moment? A release of dopamine in the brain, spawned by an enjoyable experience. And it is relative to the pervious "happy" experiences you have had and is relative to the future "happy" experiences you may have.

So enjoy what happiness you can experience while you can experience it, in this all too short life.

originally posted by: PaulTheDuke
I ask this question again:What is happiness

.I believe it has a deep meaning and it involves a big philosophy around this subject.

I believe that the key to happiness is to focus your entire life around connecting with your PURPOSE...

I also believe that VERY few ever achieve that goal.

I think the reason for that is that very few ever realize that God made each one of us for a specific reason and I am convinced that the secret to finding happiness is to CONNECT with that purpose and fulfill it.

I am much older than most and if I could go back in time and relive my life, that would be the ONE thing I would focus on more than anything else.

Recently I watched a couple films that answered some questions very similar to yours.

One of them is 'The Perfect Stranger'.

Below is a transcript from the 20:46 min. point:

Jesus: What is your deepest desire?

Nikki: I'm not sure, I want to get into that...

Jesus: Then let's talk in generalities: What do most people's hearts long for?

Nikki: I don't know... Big screen TV I suppose... people's greatest desire is to be loved.

Jesus: I don't mean to be too personal, Nikki, but in your experience has another person ever completely fulfilled that need for love?

Nikki: Matt's a good husband!

Jesus: That's not what I'm asking...

Nikki: No. I suppose, no one has ever really fulfilled it completely.

Jesus: That's because another person never can. Only God can. He created people that way.

Nikki: But the Muslims never had that hope.

Jesus: They can't have a personal relationship with Allah.

Jesus: He is just someone to worship and serve from far away, even in Paradise.

Jesus: Now, why would God create mankind with this deep need to be loved and then never meet it?

"The Perfect Stranger" is based on the novel, 'Dinner With a Perfect Stranger' by David Gregory, 'THE PERFECT STRANGER' tells the story of Nikki, a troubled attorney who one day receives a mysterious dinner invitation from a man claiming to be Jesus of Nazareth. Throughout their evening of conversation, arguments and spirited debate, Nikki learns things she never knew about life, the universe, and most importantly, herself. (Sequel to this film is here BTW)

a reply to: Murgatroid

I will watch this movie as soon as I can because it has a secret message which i want to decypher alone.
Good reply also

a reply to: Sparkymedic

You are right,I understand that from what you say,in a more simple way,is that beeing happy all the time is boring or by that happiness loses it's wholse sense,isn't it ?

a reply to: LittleByLittle

Then there is the people who achieve the bliss state where their body are naturally high they can smile while even while being though world depressed and thinking of life on earth as being in a lower level hell dimension.

For me,this looks like a stage which needs a big effort and a long meditation(this kind of meditation can be in more ways) to reach this.....I haven't meet those kind of persons but i have enough time to meet them .

originally posted by: PaulTheDuke
I will watch this movie as soon as I can because it has a secret message which i want to decypher alone.
Good reply also

If you enjoy it as much as I did, check out some of the other links I found as well...



Interview with David Gregory, "Night with a Perfect Stranger"
www.youtube.com...

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering
www.amazon.com...

Night with a Perfect Stranger: The Conversation That Changes Everything By David Gregory
books.google.com...

A Day with a Perfect Stranger By David Gregory
books.google.com...

The Perfect Stranger Parables TV Series
A wise and compassionate 'stranger' interacts with people's lives

EPISODE ONE: "THE WOMAN AT THE WELL"
A woman (Stephanie Vickers) struggles with the concept of 'not being perfect' because both her church and her family disapprove of her lifestyle.

EPISODE TWO: "THE PRODIGAL SON"
A young man (Brad Jackson) turns his back on a family fortune to "find his way in the world" and winds up sleeping in an alley.

EPISODE THREE: "MARY AND MARTHA"
Two sisters (Christina Browder and Pattie Crawford) with very different outlooks run a family diner in rural Alabama.

EPISODE FOUR: "SALT"
A grad student (Amy Hess) faces a daily challenge in the form of an outspoken professor (Percy Metcalf) and his agnostic viewpoints.

EPISODE FIVE: "THOMAS"
A boorish radio talk show host (Tom Luce) in Chicago berates his listeners on a nightly basis; tonight's topic: "The Insanity of Faith".

EPISODE SIX: "MARY MAGDALENE" (Part1) (Part2)
A conservative senator (Melissa Combs) is reluctant about casting the deciding vote on a landmark abortion bill.

EPISODE SEVEN: "WALK ON WATER"
A teenager (Alexis Hughes) grows weary of being harrassed for her
beliefs by her classmates.

Stranger Series Episodes

a reply to: PaulTheDuke

Happiness means something different to everyone. To me happiness is having self esteem, being surrounded with most of the members of my family (some don't make me happy,) friends that are positive, a job so that I can keep a roof over my head.

To others it may be superficial things like money, property and prestige. When those things run out, what then?

Happiness is that feeling that if you were to die in that moment, it would all be okay.

In some sense, happiness is bound up in our inherent nature to want to live and exist.

a reply to: PaulTheDuke


I think each individual has to find out for themself what makes them happy. You have time to experiment- observe your feelings and reactions to various activities and environments- and try to be as honest with yourself as you can!

Some people find that security and familiarity, and strong social bonds, make them happy.
Some find that lack of security, novelty, and isolation gives them challenges for the mind and body that make them happy.


This, despite whatever their education taught them they should desire. Doing what others proclaim you should desire to do will not make you happy.

a reply to: PaulTheDuke

This is a good question.

There are different forms of happiness. What Aphorism said is one form, the seeking of satisfaction. We usually find this temporary satisfaction when we attain something we want, something we have been craving. But nothing lasts forever... and neither does the satisfaction, or happy state that we gain from it. Thus we hunger again and go looking once again for happiness.

There is another form of happiness, which is more subtle. It does not hinge on the need for anything, but rather it is cultivated by oneself from within. It is the removal of the habits which cause us stress and suffering, and the cultivation of the habits which brings us love and joy.

This is the type of happiness that can endure all things, because it is outside of all things. It is brought forth as a steady stream of cool refreshing water for oneself and for others. A stream that is always flowing.

How do we attain such happiness? By practicing compassion, for oneself, for others. Practicing virtue, love, forgiveness, and by not carrying so much weight on our shoulders all the time. The less you lie, cheat, hurt, anger, the less you have to remember, the less you carry, and the lighter you feel.

One also has to ask the right questions in order to cultivate understanding, knowledge and wisdom. This is so we can keep bringing fulfilling actions into our lives, into the world, through our own actions. Do not be reactionary to the world, but seek to understand yourself and the phenomena in the world so you can move into whatever you are doing with complete awareness and mindfulness.

Through practice and cultivation, one can attain this type of happiness, and one can become a source of it.

Good question.