Google search ‘happiness’ says, “More than simply a positive mood, happiness is a state of well-being that encompasses living a good life—one with a sense of meaning and deep contentment. Feeling joyful also has health perks.”

It is somewhat of a cliché to say, but happiness is purely a state of mind, and nothing truly outside of ourselves can dictate that. This relates to not just happiness, but all of our pursuits, endeavours, and the people we are or wish to become.

One thing that modern civilization has created is a baseline requirement to live a comfortable life, and without achieving this baseline, there becomes a crossover between wants and needs, especially if our basic needs are not met, i.e., food, shelter, and water. Failing to meet these requirements means we are in a state of survival where happiness becomes a luxury.

Although happiness is a state of mind, purely based on our perception of our reality, various external factors play a significant part in achieving this. It’s easy to say happiness is purely a state of mind and we choose to be happy, which is fundamentally correct.

However, when life is stacked against us, and we fall short of acquiring our basic human needs, the reality is that happiness is no longer a necessity against our default survival mode.

Throughout my blog, in the various writings, learnings, lessons, and experiences I have had, it is very apparent that happiness is driven completely by our internal acceptance of ourselves, our lives, and the world around us. We all have to choose to attain this goal. However, there are moments in life that aren’t happy; moments where happiness is a privilege, a luxury, a dream, because as humans, we are dependent on certain elements to survive and power our organism. Sometimes we simply don’t have the opportunity to sit still and be at peace within our own minds.

Of course, it’s easy to say, attain these basic needs and build from there, and as a collective species, we should aspire to create this for all. Unfortunately, though, this is not the case, and a large portion, actually the majority, are unable to meet these requirements. Still, within these communities, happiness is present, and in various more prevalent. However, there are certain external elements that, when not met, can justify the feeling of unhappiness. For someone to turn around and say it’s all in your mind, although true, there are certain things within our world as living organisms that need to be met to allow our survival instinct to relax and our human instinct to be free to roam within our own minds.

Just remember that every day is a new day, and anyone can do anything.

Thanks,

Dean