the pursuit of happiness

Can we really be happy regardless of who we are and where we are in life? Can a man or woman in debt and children to feed, struggling from paycheck to paycheck make a choice to be happy? Can a millionaire say in an honest voice that anyone can be happy if they choose to, I mean money would be a great contributor as to how happy they are right? I don’t really know the answer to these questions.

I know people who are struggling deeply who have a sense of satisfaction and optimism in life. I also know people with probably more in life than they really need but are somehow unhappy. I would think there are more wealthy happy people than there are poor happy people or is this just a myth? I think it depends on the environment and the culture but we cannot rule out that money does bring on some comfort level and reduces stress. I go back and forth on these issues when I think of my grandmother back home who did not have much but a farm and cows. She never really had money but was always generous with her time and whatever resources she had. Her environment did not really value money over health and a good social support. On the other hand, if I think about Kibera, I’m saddened by all those Kenyans who probably don’t have or even want much but I don’t think there are very many happy people in that slum. That is just my opinion.

Dr. Holden who appeared on Oprah’s show and researches happiness made a profound statement that when we have a positive view of life, then we subconsciously look for evidence to make that outlook true. So in essence both optimists and pessimists are true about life because it’s all about the attitude (not the benjamins). When you are positive, you are working towards finding positivity in all areas of your life because you believe it is attainable. So you surround yourself with positive people, take positive steps to resolve issues. A pessimist on the other hand believes that life is not all that good, so when and issue arises, they may take a less positive action toward resolving it.

I know from personal experience there was a time when my life was probably at its harshest yet I felt completely happy and whole and I could not explain it. Now, I think I could be happier with some extra adjustments but taking Dr. Holden’s advice, I need to ditch the ‘destination addiction’; that somehow I will be happier if I got to a particular point in life. The time to be happy is now!