Interest in happiness has exploded in recent decades. Happiness is now a subject of scholarly inquiry in economics, sociology, and psychology. Turns out, there is much to be happy about. A few findings on happiness and kindness include these conclusions:
• Good deeds seem to make people feel good, even over as few as 10 days.
• Performing novel acts of kindness seems to increase happiness.
• People report greater happiness when recalling a time they purchased something for someone else rather than themselves.
• There may be a “positive feedback loop,” where feeling happy about a past act of generosity leads to future such acts.
But…
Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just be kind and generous – follow somebody’s 10 simple steps to happiness – and happiness is automatically installed into your brain like a software update. But if you have followed any of these formulas, you may know that while they offer value and as a practice may help us learn discipline and something about ourselves, pursuing happiness by someone else’s formula is not a recipe for connecting with who you really are. And it is only through truly being yourself that genuine happiness spontaneously can take root and grow as a natural expression that builds upon itself – you growing upon you – vining upward and outward, gaining strength through connection, reaching out in new ways.
Each person is unique, perhaps even uniquely “armored” with defenses to protect his or her authentic essence from prior judging or rejection. Who knows best how and when to unpeel these layers? You, not doing but allowing it to happen.
Happiness as a natural state
One fascinating finding of happiness research is the idea that with age comes greater happiness. Why might this be so, when most of us face the loss and declining physical abilities?
Could it be that we learn to better connect to our true selves, to choose not to dwell in drama and trauma but upon inherent creative possibilities of the present? With time, do we better accept ourselves and our true connectedness?
I believe that happiness occurs naturally when we experience connectedness with all human beings and the whole of nature in its beauty. What about you? have you followed a “happiness” path – or found your own?
Warmest regards,
Louis