The Meaning of Happiness

By Carson Nix


When we hear the word happiness there are numerous feelings and ideas that are conjured up. It literally has different meanings to different people. Happiness is a personal idea to each of us which we define through our own individual lives. What causes you happiness could cause another person misery.

Your values, way of life, and opinions define your happiness. Each of us perceive happiness in our own ways. For example going out to a party may make you happy, but could be a source of anxiety for your friend. Your friend may choose to stay home and watch television which may be their source of happiness. Nobody can tell another person what to do for happiness.

The only instance where the opposite would be true is from someone who gets their happiness from harming other people who do not want to be hurt. It is wrong to hurt anybody for any reason let alone deriving happiness from it. Even if a person consents to being hurt out of fear, they are making that choice out of fear not their own free will.

By definition happiness cannot come from pain and harm. By definition it states that happiness is a state of mind and being. That state of mind and being is that of being content, loved, joy and pleasure. In the definition there is nowhere where it states that happiness comes from hurting others or being hurt by others.

It is difficult to extract the attributes of happiness because they're socially and culturally defined. Happiness is interpreted by folk based on where they live in the world. An example would be going to the beach in some parts of the world and other parts going skiing. Regardless of location, there are some universal characteristics of happiness.

Normal people do not want to get hurt in any way. Therefore the person doing the harm has a screwed up meaning of happiness. This is amplified if the person being harmed is not a consenting adult. When something like this arises immediate action should be taken because of the danger they pose to others.

To be happy it is agreed around the world that one should have positive feelings. These positive feelings can come from pleasure, engagement, and having a life worth living with others. It is these basic things that most people in the world agree upon to truly feel happy.




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