In Egyptian lore, as I was once told, it is said that Isis, the goddess of fertility, awaits the spirits of the dead at the gates of heaven and weighs their hearts against a feather. If the heart is heavy, the spirit is sent back to earth; if the heart is light, the spirit is welcomed in.
In our complex time, it is extremely challenging to be true to our hearts; instead, we tend to forsake dreams and restrain desires.
A cross reference of several dictionaries yields a definition of happiness as a state of mind reached by pleasure or satisfaction – but those can be achieved by many ways; warming up a cup of milk and having a bunch of cookies with it before bedtime, for instance, can bring a person much pleasure and contentment.
I have recently encountered a quote by Hellen Keller: “Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
I disagree that there is only one way to attain happiness; our diversity demands individual triggers for happiness that may well include “self-gratification”.
Happiness is tied with excitement over an experience that fills us up with joy; it may be an encounter, an achievement, good news, or even anticipation for a favorite entrée in a fine restaurant.
I believe that the idea of happiness has been inflated to what seems to be an almost unattainable status when happiness is only one of many feelings we experience and could be triggered by things big and small as are anger, sadness, guilt, empathy, pride, hatred, gratitude and so on.
Happiness may be a feeling that is very enjoyable and therefore desirable, but it is certainly only a fraction of our emotional range.
Mostly though, I believe that we can choose to be happy, whether things go our way or not.
Focusing on the positive in our lives, doing the best we can to improve the negative and accepting that the universe is not “out there to get us” can grant us inner peace, which I believe most people confuse for true happiness.
