The Hidden Secret to Genuine Happiness

I love this post! Happiness is really about how we choose to create meaning into what we are doing. It may be something as mundane as washing the dishes. Most certainly, we can choose to be singing and being at peace even while there is a mountain of dishes to wash.
.-= Evelyn Lim´s last blog ..Holiday with Happiness =-.

I do think faith is a big part of it… faith in SOMEthing, the belief that things will be fine and turn out as they were meant to. Not exactly “the best of all possible worlds”, like Candide, but just knowing that it’s OK to let go and not have to try to control everything.

Sometimes I wonder if it is possible to be truly happy, or have genuine, deeply rooted faith, without going through some sort of boundary experience, like the loss of a loved one, or a near death experience, or some major challenge or crisis? Maybe the degree of happiness that is possible is somehow related to the depth of emotional despair one has endured.

I don’t really know… just thinking out loud.
.-= Lisis´s last blog ..Fellowship Fridays: Getting Your Groove Back =-.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G post, Nadia. Of course you know I’m ALL about this topic — happiness. It’s something we all want in life, but so many of us have no idea how to get it or what do with it when we think we’ve found it. Happiness, I truly believe, comes from within. It is a choice and it is not always an easy one to make. I struggle with making the choice on a daily basis since my mind always seems to want to drift into the unhappy zone. Thank you so much for writing this. It’s a truly wonderful post and it was such a joy to read. Also, thank you for mentioning Michael J. Fox’s book. I’ve been meaning to read it and you’ve reminded me that I MUST pick up a copy soon. He’s seems like such an inspiration for people like me who struggle with being positive. If you didn’t get this message already: I LOVED THIS POST.
.-= Positively Present´s last blog ..3 simple steps for conquering unhappiness =-.

Great post Nadia, and on a very important subject.

I don’t think optimism has anything to do with. The call for optimism just creates angst. It’s true that whatever we put attention on expands; but it’s also true that what we resist, festers. Change begins when we can own up what we have become, without labeling it positive or negative.

Faith is the insight that there is a higher possibility–a possibility of living in flow and joy and where each moment of living is fresh and fascinating. Once we have this faith, this insight, it is the beginning of the end of suffering and there is no turning back. And interestingly, every one’s journey is so very different.
.-= Kaushik´s last blog ..The Red Pill of Awakening =-.

Hello Nadia, wonderful post once again.how beautifully u made a description abt being happy n contented in life.thx for being here n making all of us better humans with a whole new perspection towards life .pls write a post on time mangment skills if possible in near future. thx well in advance to u .

deepest regards n lot of happiness to u
Manish.

I read through all the comments and was struck by Lisis’s— obviously has hit home for me several times actually, in my life— one not too long ago– the falling to your knees as you said Nadia, and— I feel that in general we live in a very artificial system here in the states— elsewhere as well, it’s almost inescapable; scattered souls wandering around. As you said we all want happiness and meaning, but boy if we had healthy and happy people, that would put an end to a lot of these ‘artificial’ jobs—I question the source of all information we receive, and I am grateful that there are still roads (your blog) that carry a personal touch, open windows of communication because it’s seemingly more and more that people don’t even make eye contact– they’re busy texting or whatever. On a very good note however, I continue to meet wonderful people and we share a common love— music happens to be the base of it, but there is more to it— when our hearts sing out for more– thank you for your inspiration— wishing you a wonderful day— !

How wonderful that I discovered your blog today. You have shared many important insights about happiness, your own and others.

Happiness is a decision, even though we all begin from varied starting points. I don’t remember calling what I wanted “happiness” when I was a kid, but I did decide I would create the life I wanted. Unlike you, I grew up in an ethnic neighborhood, school and church. Although I was surrounded with my own ethnic group, I was teased and often felt awkward or out of place because I always seemed to enjoy doing things that many in my circle didn’t.

When I entered college, the opposite occurred; I was often the only one of my ethnic group in classes and activities I pursued. By then, however, I was determined to follow my own path, and it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t reach my goals. In spite of subtle, but still painful racism, I forged ahead, sometimes alone.

Learning to read enabled me to learn about other lifestyles and places, and fueled my desire to travel. I found great pleasure in writing poetry and later nonfiction, and soon grew more and more confident in my writing and speaking ability. It’s no surprise that my passion was teaching and eventually became my career.

The best choice that I ever made that ensured my own happiness was not restricting myself to what others thought best. Some of the oldtimers and even some of my college professors thought women should choose between getting an education and having a career, and raising a family. I was intent on doing all of these, so I ignored these folks.

In addition to learning to read, observing others was very helpful to me. My mother operated a homebased beauty shop, so I got to hear many years of stories of the ups and downs of women’s lives. I made up my mind as a child to heed the advice of people who lived the lifestyles I admired, and avoid the mistakes of the people who were forever sad, miserable and failing.

You’re absolutely right that belief in a higher power is essential to happiness. So is the belief that you can have and deserve happiness. The irony is that happiness means different things to different people. Some pessimists are quite content with their outlook, while some optimists are never content.

Our job in this lifetime is to find our purpose and with faith in a higher power create the lives that give us joy and enrich the lives of those around us.

Thank you for sharing your life with us.
.-= Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D.´s last blog ..Three Reasons to Get Rid of the Life you Planned =-.

Great post, Nadia. I find it useful to remind myself that we only have access to four emotions — sadness, anger, fear, and joy. All other feelings fall roughly into one of those four categories. We shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves when we’re unable to maintain joy. If there are only four ways to feel, and only one of them is positive, that helps to explain a lot of the pain we experience. Sounds kind of logical, doesn’t it? Faith may be the key to a more genuine happiness. I’m so glad you share your happy-lotusness with us. Happy Friday!
.-= Brenda´s last blog ..Toward Gladness =-.

Wonderful post! I could just see the 5 yr. old on the curb figuring this out – perhaps because I was on my own curb early in life. Great insight! Love it!
.-= suzen´s last blog ..Stress and Eating – Why Diets May Not Work? =-.

Great post! I have always been happy (overall) to spite some of my challenges. I am not sure why, I was an extremely sensitive child (I felt very deeply), but always content and ‘happy’.

As a child, I spent hours amusing myself in the woods behind our home- since I was basically raised an only child until I was 15 (I had a 1/2 sister that did not live with me), I guess a lot of times I had to find ways to make myself happy rather that searching for it from the outside/ or from others- I had to get creative. On the flip side I feel things deeply. Even when I am in so much emotional pain that I can feel it manifesting itself physically, I DO have faith- and this knowing that it will pass quickly, that life is ever changing. I don’t hold on to bitterness, I think this helps too- when I do get angry, it passes, usually pretty quickly. I find myself making jokes- laughing to myself about the situation later after it ‘blows over’.

I remember, in my early 20′s, I dated a man that I was so completely fascinated by. He was extremely intelligent (left brain/ with science and numbers) and this was something that attracted me to him. He was a pessimist by nature though. I remember we where having a discussion about why we liked each other. He thought about intently for what seemed like forever and he said “you’re fun”. I replied with “what? that is all you can come up with?” and he said “that is something everyone is looking for- to be genuinely happy”. At the time it was not what I wanted to hear- but looking back, it was a wonderful compliment.