IT'S THE SMALL THINGS

According to the Britannica, “happiness, in psychology, [is] a state of emotional well-being that a person experiences either in a narrow sense, when good things happen in a specific moment, or more broadly, as a positive evaluation of one’s life and accomplishments overall.” That is what popped up as the first hit on Google when I literally searched “what is happiness.” If only obtaining true happiness was really only a click away, then what a happy world we would be living in every single day.  But part of the adventure that is life is riding through its waves – its ups, its downs, taking it all, processing and realizing. So much so that as coveted as happiness is, experiencing it in its truest form is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling of gifts in life. But what exactly constitutes happiness? I have come to realize that it is as subjective as it is personal. It is one of those things that cannot be taught, but can only be gained, and through time, if we are aspiring for the long and lasting kind.
Happiness comes in degrees. From mundane everyday material things that spark joy to your most requested of prayers being answered. It can range from having your favorite ice cream flavor at the end of a long and fulfilling day to getting the proposal from your long-time boyfriend you have been waiting for. Happiness is not always as concrete as we imagine or hope for it to be. Many times, it is clouded behind a fog of many other distractions that color and fill up our lives. We must just be patient enough to seek it out.
Oftentimes too, we mistake happiness for contentment and/or fulfillment. When in reality, it is more often than not a collaboration of all three that give us the ultimate and peak happiness we seek. Happiness also comes hand in hand with gratefulness. I have found that if we choose to view our cups as half full and live life with an attitude of gratitude, we are more likely to find happiness even in the smallest of things, and feel more fulfilled.
Happiness and our concept of it also evolve as we go through various stages of life. Happiness was much simpler when we were children. It was being able to have twin popsies after school, or being rewarded with one hundred pesos after getting a perfect grade in my exam. These days, happiness is a good night’s sleep – uninterrupted and without laying awake long at night because stressors are keeping me up. It is knowing that those I care most about are happy. It is being able to make others happy as well, and finding my own happiness without hurting or compromising that of others along the way.
I have often found fulfillment in being able to bring happiness to the lives of others. As a person, I know that one never forgets how someone else makes you feel. Being able to gift someone with that priceless feeling – whether it is a simple compliment, being an ear that listens, or being able to give them help that they need in life – is unparalleled. And with attaining happiness should also come the wisdom to know that it is, and can be fleeting. Thus, we must remember to stay humble despite our successes, and the glories that bring us the priceless joy we are experiencing at the moment. Because while these can sometimes make us feel invincible, it can also end as quickly as it began. Live in the moment, seize the day, and remember, mundane, or substantial, that there is something to smile about everyday.