Monday 20th marks a day most of us would probably be unaware of if it wasn’t for social media; International Day of Happiness.
The celebration was founded in 2012 when every member of the United Nations General Assembly resolved that people should come together to celebrate happiness in the lives of everyone around the world. Now the pursuit of happiness is seen as a human right and as fundamental to human lives.
Whilst this is an amazing movement and one which ultimately recognises our collaborative fundamental rights, happiness isn’t something that just happens overnight all of the time.
Sometimes, a new haircut or a retail session boosts our happiness levels.
Grabbing the last slice of pizza = instant happiness.
Seeing your friends and getting ready for a night out brings laughter and memories galore.
However, amongst many, if not all of us, there seems to be an ongoing pursuit for happiness and no proof that we’ll ever actually be at the point where we’ll be happy for the rest of our lives. Maybe forcing ourselves to feel happy ultimately makes us feel even worse because there’s something unachievable in ultimate happiness.
We kick ourselves when things don’t go how we want them to or how they ‘should go’. We hate that sometimes we feel sad, forgetting that it’s a normal human emotion. We also dislike that we can never seem to be happy and maintain the mood.
However, ultimate happiness takes a lot more than not feeling low or getting what we want. Happiness means accepting everything that we are and everything that we feel and understanding that emotions are normal.
Happiness is obviously a great thing but having the ability to feel other emotions shows great strength as we learn to be compassionate, understanding, hard working and determined. If happiness was just handed to us, we’d be none of those things. We would be empty shells.
So, next time you feel down about not being happy, just remember that, whilst you may not be happy YET, you’re growing and learning and becoming someone who will one day have all the tools to build a feelings empire where we’re compassionate, caring and loving towards everyone, making the world a better place.
