Happiness is…

There are those who believe that happiness is a state of mind. These are generally the same people who subscribe to the ideology that it is the power of positive thinking that invokes a sense of happiness and contentment in an otherwise miserable existence. Then there are those who believe that happiness comes from achieving one’s goals, acquiring wealth and utilizing said wealth to realize the dreams one has nurtured since childhood – dreams of flashy sports cars, expensive and elaborately decorated mansions in affluent neighbourhoods, designer clothing and membership to the most elite country club. In short, the ‘top billing’ lifestyle that only a vulgar excess of money can bring. These people are usually the ones who would do anything to clinch the deal or get their hands on the largest piece of the profit pie.

Me, I believe that happiness is a secret your heart keeps. It can be likened to a coy young bride who reveals only the slightest glimpses of skin on her wedding day. She looks so beautiful, pure and attractive. This is not the type of attraction that leads to a one night stand…not lust. This is love, for a lifetime. He knows all that he could have when he decides to spend the rest of his life loving that girl. But he has to work for it, work for her affection. It’s the same way with happiness. It’s not a quick fix, a feeling we can summon whenever we are feeling like life has got the better of us. Happiness, you may be amazed to hear, is not a “pick-me-upper.” It’s in the moments we spend in the midst of good friends and good conversation, in the long summer days spent with family on the beach, in the hours spent showering our loyal and loving dogs with the attention and affection they so desperately desire and deserve for being there when no-one else was, in the lazy mornings we waste in front of the television in our pyjamas, eating a bowl of cornflakes. It’s in the loud, action packed Saturday afternoons enjoyed at sports bars amongst fellow sports fans, wearing our colours and watching our favourite teams battling it out on the soccer/cricket/rugby field for pride and glory and in the Sunday afternoon naps we steal after a big, greasy, indulgent breakfast. It’s in hearing an old song that transports you to a time gone by, or in seeing that the boyband of your high school fantasies has reunited to do another tour – except now they’re all men, balding and fat with no business claiming to be a boyband any longer. It’s in the Christmas carols that take us back to when we were kids, putting out milk and cookies for Santa Claus.

It’s in the everyday moments, and not necessarily in every momentous day. Happiness is there, inside every one of us. All we have to do is fine-tune the eyes of our soul to sneak a glance at those fleeting moments when our heart reveals a part of the secret…