What is the exact meaning of happiness? What kind of variable / indicator usually used to measure our happiness? There are a lot of approaches that have been used to make that precise description of happiness, such as; biology, psychology, religion, and philosophy. Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion. In Wikipedia, happiness is defined as a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy.
Recently, there have been so many variables / indicators that people usually use to measure their happiness. Some common indicators of happiness are questions like how much money do we have? How far can you reach your career position in office? Or maybe how many university degrees have you attained until today? Are those one of your indicators? If the answer is not, then what is your indicator? To illustrate this, let me share you an inspiring story.
A 92 years old man dressing nattily every day had his own appetite and self confidence. One day his children sent him into a nursing home. His wife just recently passed away. After waiting patiently during several hours in the lobby, he smiled when a young man told him that his room had been ready to use. On their way to the room, the young man described everything about his small room, including the curtain at the window.
“I LOVE IT!” he said enthusiastically like 8 years old boy who just got a dog.
“Hold on Grandpa, You haven’t seen the room yet..!” said the young man.
“Happiness is something that you decide ahead of time. Whether I will take a fancy to my room or not, does not depend on how its house wares are arranged, but how I arrange my mind.”
“I have decided to fancy it. It is my decision that I make every morning when I wake up from the bed.”
“I have a choice. I can pass the time in bed and start to narrate the difficulty happened to me because some parts of my body cannot work out anymore, or wake up from the bed and give thanks to God for parts which still function.”
From the story that I just told you, happiness can be defined as a product from our mind. How we look into our life. That is our real life. If you look on the negative side of things, your life must be negative. We have the meaning of life, because we give the meaning to it. Likewise, those who don’t give life a meaning, their life will just be empty.
So, why do we have to pass the time by thinking the bad and disappointing side while we can find a lot of beautiful things around us? I believe that we can find our own happiness as long we are able to see and be grateful to Allah SWT for the good things and try to forget bad ones. Make your own decision right now!!
Wassalam
-Zakhran Averroes-
