Defining Happiness
By jaishankar
@else34 (13517)
New Delhi, India
November 15, 2015 6:27am CST
I had somewhere read a sentence perhaps by George Bernard Shaw,'If you want to be happy,be.'It means,being happy or unhappy is in our hands.
My parents say, you are happy if you think you are happy.Obviously they support Shaw.
I think and ask myself,'Am I happy?'
I would be lying if I say I am.There are many things I need,but don't have.And I don't know if having everything or nothing you need has any thing to do with my being happy or unhappy.
Will then I become happy if I now say,'Yes,I am happy?'Obviously,'No.'
What then happiness is?
I would say,you are happy if you are satisfied.Does' happiness' mean 'satisfaction.'
If so,then is happiness is all about being satisfied despite not having things you want to have?
How would you define happiness?
8 people like this
9 responses
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
15 Nov 15
It's hard to be happy when you have no food, no shelter. But I would think that once basic needs are met, happiness lies more in mindset
2 people like this
@else34 (13517)
• New Delhi, India
16 Nov 15
@Jessicalynnt,Absolutely right.Basic needs must be satisfied.Without it one can't be happy.But is is that easy as Shaw says that if you want to be happy,be.Food,shelter and cloths are our basic needs.If we have all the three,we desire having more and more.Desires can never be satisfied.And as long as you desire,you can't be happy.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
16 Nov 15
@else34 I think some desire is ok, the desire to have more motivates it, but it shouldnt stand in the way of contentment for what is had, again as long as basic needs are met. I am NOT going to tell a homeless guy he should be happy and content because he is alive or something, seems rude
1 person likes this
@else34 (13517)
• New Delhi, India
17 Nov 15
@Jessicalynnt The more I think over it,the more I get confused.Don't know what to say.
1 person likes this
@babaraimc (1310)
• Pakistan
18 Nov 15
happy is ........... i dont know but it is something , i am sure
like feeling of happy
1 person likes this
@else34 (13517)
• New Delhi, India
18 Nov 15
@babaraimc,I think,it is the state of mind when you rise above your desires and get ready for everything that is given to you by God.A feeling of fulfilment.
1 person likes this
@else34 (13517)
• New Delhi, India
18 Nov 15
@babaraimc Maybe that's what we call happiness.
1 person likes this
@babaraimc (1310)
• Pakistan
18 Nov 15
@else34 yeah i think so,
in psychology they said this a feeling of satisfaction
1 person likes this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
15 Nov 15
I think it is time for you to de-link happiness from your desire or material things.
Everyone can choose to be happy.
Even a hungry person can choose to be happy by thinking about food.
He does not need to see and smell the food before he decides to be happy.
1 person likes this
@else34 (13517)
• New Delhi, India
17 Nov 15
@yalul070,I agree with you.I know,Shaw is right.But the question in my mind is,can a beggar who is extremely hungry and has nothing to eat be happy despite being unable to satisfy his hunger?Food is one our basic requirements.Can one rise over it?
1 person likes this
@ajuharsh (2)
• India
15 Nov 15
Happiness is a feeling which resides in the hands all the individuals, so if you are not scared of losing anything or you are not attached / dependent on anyone your feeling of happiness always stays on top because irrespective of whatever happens you are not bound to respond to that situation so you are always Happy.
1 person likes this
@else34 (13517)
• New Delhi, India
15 Nov 15
@ajuharsh,You are absolutely right.One becomes happy when one become independent.But don't you think that independence,in true sense of the term,also means independence from the feeling of being needy.I mean,it is perhaps all about rising above needs.....Excuse me,please,it is perhaps too difficult for me to express myself in English.
