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Saturday, 28 May 2016

Happiness, Will You Marry Me?

To get joy, we must give it and to keep joy, we must scatter it. ~ John Templeton

Happiness is a fleeting emotion. Happiness, is also hard work to keep around. There are a lot of unhappy people around in the world, and they would like for others to join their ranks. Like the old saying, misery loves company.

I think it's safe to say that the world is going through dark times. Arguably dark enough to say that they might just be darker than the dark ages themselves. Nevertheless, in this world, trying to be happy is so tough. In fact, it's hard work. With messages, of people saying that we are responsible for other people's happiness, bills to pay, rude people, it seems how does one even try to be happy.

People aside, it can be a challenge to control our emotions. Like a wild stallion, it goes where it wants, and seems to resent any form of constraint. However, it may resent being reined in, so to speak, they have to be reined in, less they destroy oneself altogether, if not others too.

Being happy is a conscious effort. It's not something that you just hope for and it happens all by itself. No, it is not like the newspaper that is thrown on your lawn every week. Happiness must be nurtured, carefully.

There is “feral” happiness, in the ideal that things out of our control make us happy. Mayhap, it being a turn of events that happened to our pleasure, or something like that. However, the problem with this “feral” happiness, is that it's not steady. Meaning, that we are only happy now and a then. Besides, it being out of our control.

Artificial happiness. Have you ever seen a hydroponics farm? A perfect place for plants to grow. You can create a place like that. You just hide from the world think happy thoughts, and stick your head in the ground. While quite a reliable method, ignorance is bliss is not really the best policy, especially what you can't see will very well and most likely kill you.

So, how do you have happiness? To be honest, you cannot ever really be happy. Why? For the reason that happiness is based on your surroundings. Furthermore, the people we see around us, that seem happy, rarely are they happy.

However, while that might seem all depressing, it isn't. For the real truth is, you cannot rely on happiness. You have to rely on joy. Joy is not based on it's surroundings, but rather what someone chooses to have inside of them.

It's not easy. It's like a boat in a storm. However, it gets easier with practice. The first step really, is noting whether you are joyful. Followed by that, it's removing things that are hindering that joy. Sometimes, we cannot remove them, so you release them through an outlet. Some people sing it out, play it out with an instrument, or pat it out with a pet. (Patting pets is actually proven scientifically to relieve stress). Whatever you choose, things that hinders should be removed. For once removed, joy has a better chance of staying, and usually half of the battle is fought.
Being joyful is a choice, one that we must choose every day. While it might seem absurd. It is only as absurd, as not trying to be happy or joyful everyday. When we are joyful, we do things better, we are better people. Really we cannot afford to not be joyful beings. Although some fake it till they make it, sometimes, we have to come to grips why we are unhappy and face it down. It's hard, we may not feel like joy is anywhere remotely possible or right for the moment, but it is always. For when things are at it's darkest, the greatest opposite is needed to counteract.




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