Happiness is…?
How-to guides to finding happiness seem to be the current trend in popular psychology. Look almost anywhere on the Internet and you will find a dozen experts willing to provide lists, formulae, even flowcharts that illuminate the route to happiness. But for anyone (read: “everyone”) struggling to find it, happiness is an often-elusive concept, not an algebra problem with a step-by-step logical process that yields a quick solution.
I believe we each have our own unique path to happiness, and it’s a path that may change directions a few times as we move through life. But I think a few things are true for everyone.
To be happy we should not only be grateful for the big things—our minds, our lives and the people we choose to share them with—but the little ones as well. The people I’ve known who seem to have the most inner peace are able to find great contentment in the simple and the ordinary, things like a blue sky, a good cup of coffee and a silly conversation with a friend. These little pleasures, and the moments we take to enjoy them, don’t last, but our ability to find joy in life does.
The way to happiness doesn’t come with a map, so we must bumble along as best we can. But if we can enjoy the journey, then we’re already halfway there.
Image by Peter Hartl
Tori is a student intern who will be working with the Thankfulfor team over the summer. She is a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she is studying graphic design.
