Definition of Happiness

You, I, and everybody else, want to be happy. But what exactly is being happy? For me, being happy means having the freedom to choose, respecting the freedom of yourself and others, and choosing what sets you free.

Exercising your own will or choosing for yourself, is essential to happiness. Every one of us has a mind that is able to create fresh and original ideas, receptive to information from the world around us, and competent in making decisions. Each of us cannot live a full life alone because we need the companionship and guidance of others, but all of us must decide alone. We are the captains of our soul, having our hands on the steering wheel. If another man gets our steering wheel, then our life is not our own. To illustrate, think of a man named Bob who likes to play basketball but his parents told him to play volleyball instead, lest his parents cut off the privilege of playing sports altogether. This illustration is an example of choking your happiness because you have no freedom to choose to do the things which you enjoy.

Acknowledging the fact that each of us has our own ship wherein we are captains, if we try to meddle with the maneuvering of others' lives, then we lose control of our own ships. For example, a man named George is jealous of Jorge because the latter is better in Mathematics than the former, and so George resorts to spreading false rumors about Jorge. When George does this, he makes negative emotions continually fill his heart. These negative emotions are hindrances to freedom, functioning as shackles to your soul. Also, if Jorge finds out about the backstabbing, he and George will be alienated from each other. This alienation is a negative emotion that likewise chains the soul of Jorge. On the other hand, if one respects the freedom of others, he gives others and himself the freedom that is fundamental to happiness.

Last but not the least, the capability that is truly unique to us homo sapiens sapiens, is to exercise our will to carry out the implanted desires in us. Desires, not just superficial fancies that last only for a while, are like breath; Without breath, people die; When people breathe, they're relaxed and content. People have different combinations of desires inside their souls, and that innate uniqueness is what's so interesting in life. What may seem to be a superficial fancy to one person may be a deep desire to another, so the key to being happy is not being judgmental, and basking in the wonder of what is carved on your soul, remembering to thank the One who gave life to be happy in. :)