Why Are You Happy?

People don't get what they want.  They don't get the food they want, the drink they want, the love they want, the car they want, the house they want, the job they want, the boss they want, the spouse they want, the kids they want.  They just can't be happy.  They keep anticipating a better life that never comes.  They live on a spectrum of misery.

Yes, there is a spectrum of misery.  This spectrum is based on what your body needs to exist, what your mind needs, and what your spirit needs.  You are miserable without water. If you get water you are miserable without food.  If you get enough food, you are miserable without a place to live.  If you have a place to live, you are miserable without family and friends.  If you have family and friends, you are miserable because you look for something more.  You look for something more, and you're miserable about it, but your sense of exactly what you are looking for is muddled.

The further along the spectrum of misery, the more complex the misery becomes and the more difficult it is to know what you really want.  Therein lies the quandary of why people who seemingly have everything can be the most miserable.  They are on the far end of the spectrum of misery that is the most complex and most difficult to placate.  The complexity of the misery leads to confusion.  They think, "If only we had a shinier car," or "chandeliers on the ceiling would make all the difference."

No, the person does not understand the misery, because they have somehow been conditioned to believe that there is a way to be happy about everything all the time.  If you're not happy all the time, then you must need more food, more alcohol, or more pills, right?  If one doesn't do it, then how about two?  How about all three all the time?  How about shooting up every two hours?  Surely you'll be happy all the time then, right?  No, you will die.  There might be happiness after death, but no one living can be sure.

We are designed by nature to feel bad and to feel good.  There's sadness, depression, anger, and anxiety.  Then there's joy, glee,contentment, and satisfaction.  There are a wide range of bad and good feelings within our body and mind always waiting to come out.  The irony is that we struggle harder to feel good and we feel worse in the process.  When we don't recognize what's happening, we continue down the path of deepening misery and we disconnect from our spirit.  We can't change mother nature, so what do we do?  We strive for happiness by recognizing our personal source of misery and using it to stay connected with our spirit.

Why are you happy?  Does your car have a fantastic shine?  Do chandeliers hang from your ceiling?  Do you eat constantly?  Do you numb your feelings with drugs or alcohol?  If you are self aware, you know that your innermost happiness does not come from the outside.  The headrush of happiness surges naturally through your body and mind.  It's not constant, because that's not natural.  It fleets in and out as good and bad feelings intermingle.  It comes from your spirit when it has overcome your misery.

It comes when you have taken action to reconnect with your spirit in spite of your misery.  It comes when you avoid numbing your miserable feelings and take action on them instead.  It comes when you mend broken relationships.  It comes when you find common ground between two extremes.  It comes when you see the fantastic shine of someone else's happiness because of your own actions.  It comes when you see the light without chandeliers.  It comes when you see someone else's spirit.  You know it because you see your own.