If you are not happy in your current state, you might never be happy in any other state. This means your happiness is dependant upon an ideal state that you have formed in your mind and yet life will never be ideal.
Happiness (namely long term, consistent happiness), is an inside job; it is an emotional state and comes from within. It can never be gained from the outside. Happiness can best be described as contentment. Once you train your inner being into being contented with who you are, you will be happy as you work through all stages of becoming who you want to be. if, on the other hand, you ignore the habit of contentment, you will be dissatisfied with everything in life.
According to the WHO (Word Health Organization), approximately one million people commit suicide each year worldwide, that is about one death every 40 seconds or 3,000 per day. For each individual who takes his/her own life, at least 20 attempt to do so. Suicide has a global mortality rate of 16 per 100,000 people. These statistics show the results of unhappiness. It is heartbreaking.
Society is increasingly designed to depress us. Happiness is not very good for the economy. If we were happy with what we had, why would we need more? In a society that thrives on self-doubt, being self confident is a rebellious act.
How do you sell an anti-ageing moisturizer? You make someone worry about ageing. How do you get someone to vote for a political party? You make them worry about immigration, another religion, tribe, race or colour. How do you get people to buy insurance? By making them worry about everything. How do you get people to have plastic surgery? By highlighting their physical flaw(s). How do you get people to watch a TV show? By making them worry about missing out. How do you get people to buy a new smart phone? By making them feel like they are being left behind.
We are constantly being shown on commercials that happiness lies in what we don’t have. They portray people in bigger houses, fancier cars, different outfits as the ones who are happier. So we are duped into defining happiness based materialism. We start thinking that acquiring the things we don’t have now, will make us happier in the future.
To be calm becomes kind of revolutionary act. To be happy with you own non-upgraded existence. To be comfortable in your own messy, human self, would not be good for business.
So you spend your time and resources chasing jobs, titles, people, relationships, houses cars and all things hoping these will make you happy. You live your life on edge, hiding your flaws to please a person, company, organization or employer somewhere. You hope your fake perfection will make them happy and convince them to accept you. Only then will you start living because you will be happy.
Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. You are not a whole human being without your flaws. You cannot cut out only the good; your strengths, talents and gifts then leave out your shortcomings. If someone doesn’t accept you just as you are (with all your strengths and weaknesses), that person isn’t worth having in your life.
You are not a machine which comes with certain specifications to suit a particular job. You do not exist to make institutions get anything from life. The institutions exist to aid your journey through life. You are under no obligation to set yourself on fire so as to keep the world warm.
There is beauty in imprefection. Most of all there is fulfilling joy, happiness and contentment. Be-You-tiful! To read more posts by Danstan, click HERE
