Friday, April 1, 2011

Happiness And All That Comes With It

Please respond to the following prompt: I expect you to to ask an open-ended critical level question at the end of your response that may prompt someone else. I also expect you to react to one other's comment within your own reflection. Make sure you are being thoughtful and discerning. What is true happiness? What do you need to be happy? What should drive and push us?

26 comments:

  1. "To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."(Friedrich Nietzsche)
    One's happiness is unique. While one man finds pure joy in his family and fulfilling their needs and wants, another finds it money and capital, and still another can find it in trying to perfect his understanding of the world. However, one can discern true happiness from simple joys when he knows that he would die for what brings him true happiness, he would suffer for whom brings his pleasure, for if he didn't, he could not survive.

    "Money won't buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a large research staff to study the problem."(Bill Vaughan)
    Due to the fact that happiness is realitve, it depends on who you are as to what you need for happiness. If money is all your after, either a banking job or a good idea will take you a lot further. If you are only after a family, then you seek a wonderful wife and potential mother. However, no one is handes hapiness on a silver platter. Anyone who is quickly finds that the dish was not prepared well. Hapiness is something that is earned. It is all well and good to want a family, but you cannot have a good family without a job and a partner. If you only seek to learn, books aren't cheap. An author can not inspire without lifting his pencil.

    "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."(Winston Churchill.)
    Happiness should be the goal of all men's lives, whether this be the happiness of themselves or the happiness of others. Indeed the folly of those who strive strictly towards wealth is the fact they don't understand that money is a tool, an essential piece of happiness, but it is not happiness alone. This want, this need, to be happy in all aspects of our life helps drive us. For what higher purpose can you want? Would life be satisfying and rewarding if we all worked for the good of man? the grace of God? morality? It is only the happiness of you and those whom you love that is the purpose of philosophy, religion, technology and ideology, all fitted for different thoughts and tastes.
    "Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves – or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth."(Ayn Rand)

    Can all men be happy simultaneously? What is the cost of happiness?

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  2. True happiness to me is being fully content with what you have and never wanting anything more. I think it's natural to want and wish for things that we don't have. However, if that is all we ever do how can we ever truly be happy? I believe that in order to find true happiness you have to live an un-selfish lifestyle. If life is always about getting the next best thing we will never be fully satisfied.

    In my own personal life I need my faith, family, and my friends to keep me happy. I don't need money even though I often times catch myself wishing I had more of it. Yet, when I put things into perspective, money is the least of my priorities. There are so many people less fortunate than myself and that is one reason to be content with what I have. I try not to let the world talk me into the next best thing but I'm not perfect. I think it's up to the individual person to decide and prioritize what they need in life to make them happy. I have learned that I'm never happy if I always want more. Yet, if I look at all the great things I have now I am content and therefore a much happier person.

    I think a drive or motive in life that should push us is to simply do the best that you can do. Along with that, don't worry about tomorrow because today has enough cares of it's own. If we are constantly consumed in things that have not yet happened, we won't do our best at the things that need to be done now. Always looking for something more will never leave one feeling full or complete. One of my favorite songs is "Say (All I Need)" by OneRepublic. In this song I think these lyrics apply to being happy. "All I need is the air I breathe, and a place to rest my head. Do you know what your fate is, and are you trying to shake it? Bless my soul, you're a lonely soul 'cause you won't let go of anything you hold. Do you think you can find it, better than you have it?" This song puts things into perspective for me. All I really need is what I have now. Why look for something better than how I have it now?

    In response to Parker's questions, I think that no matter how hard you to try to change someone, not every person will be genuinely happy. Also, I don't believe that happiness has a cost. If you're truly happy than you have not given up anything that really matters.

    How can we learn to be content with what we have? How much happier could we potentially be if we didn't look for something more all the time?

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  3. Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it. ~Fyodor Dostoevsky
    True happiness…. Well happiness is defined as a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. So really you do not need to be overwhelmingly happy to experience happiness. I believe that TRUE happiness is achieved at the point when one realizes that they don’t need to world to be happy. This is the moment when an individual recognizes that it doesn’t matter how much they have, what kind of car they drive, where they work….. All you need to be happy is to not focus on what is bad in life. Once we take focus off of our problems, and put it on what is good, we will be happy.
    What I need to be happy is different then what someone else may need. I need love my family, my faith, friends and music. Money, although it is nice, is not a necessity. The quote that was shared with us in class from a former student really ticked me off, “The people who say that money doesn’t matter are the people who don’t have it.” So wrong. So, so, so wrong. All I need on days where I feel depressed and just terrible is some alone time with my piano, to say a few prayers and maybe a good hug. That is it. My piano takes away my stress, praying and just talking with God is an assurance that everything will be ok, and a hug from my mom is my comfort. But the focus right now is not what makes me go back to being happy, it is what makes me happy in the first place. Making my nephew and niece smile at me, getting a big baby hug or kiss, piano, staying up late….. This list goes on for a good while. To be happy one just needs to find what they care about, and spend their time focusing on it.
    I think that a big motivation for finding happiness is experiencing extreme discontent. If anyone has ever felt what it is like to be seriously depressed, the thought of being happy seems literally impossible. When you go through these periods you feel terrible, and when you get out of the darkness that depression causes and back into the sunlight of happiness you never want to go back. When I think about slipping back into depression it terrifies me, this causes me to find what makes me happy and spend as much time as possible trying to avoid taking those steps backwards into depression. So, for me at least depression is my motivator. I am afraid of it, therefore I do whatever I can to stay as far away from it as possible.
    In response to Rachel’s question, I believe that we can learn to be content with what we have if we give up the things that we don’t truly need. This doesn’t mean getting rid of everything we own it just means downsizing so that owning things doesn’t become a priority. When the focus of our happiness goes from what we want to what we have and how great our lives are, then the amount of happiness we can reach is limitless.
    How can we prioritize our lives to put our focus on what makes us happy rather then what doesn’t? How can happiness be maintained?

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  5. Happiness is defined as “feeling or showing pleasure or contentment”. For example, having a healthy family, a successful career, or even just watching the gorgeous sunrise could make someone feel happiness. Any certain concept or possession could make someone happy. Are materials permanent happiness or temporary until the next great item comes along? Happiness is fragile and could last for a lifetime, or is gone in an instant. The emotion is unconscious, yet learned. We become happy naturally, sometimes after the smallest moments, yet we sometimes watch when others become happy and try to replicate how they react. For example, on jewelry store commercials, after someone has just been proposed to with the perfect diamond, they react surprised and so joyful that they can’t contain their happiness. Does this happen in all situations? No. Is this reaction ever faked because the individual thinks that they should act in a certain way during certain events with specific emotions? Absolutely. As H. Jackson Browne wrote, “People will take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” This quote answers the question of what it takes to be happy. As Parker mentioned, the answer is different for everyone. Maybe it is simple, like finishing a good book, or more materialistic like purchasing the perfect car. It is not up to me to determine what makes people happy. I need my family, my friends, and fond memories to make me happy. Although having money is helpful in certain situations, it is not what determines my happiness. The feeling that comes from happiness should drive and push us. The large smile, warm heart, and self-satisfaction that result should be motivating enough to take actions to help notice moments of happiness. If people try too hard to “make” happiness, it will never come. Instead, live each day purposefully and thoughtfully, and happiness will find it’s way into their lives. In response to Aizlinne’s question, to maintain happiness, someone should continue to do what makes them feel happy. If they take the negative aspects out of their life and especially focus on the positive accomplishments and moments, then they are able to more easily maintain happiness. This is easier said than done, but it takes practice and work to be able to determine how certain things affect someone’s life.

    What does it take to lose happiness? Who controls what makes people happy? Is the “feeling” of happiness addicting?

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  6. “Happiness is like peeing your pants…everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.” –unknown.
    True happiness seems to always be so hard to achieve, but I think that it is easier then we think it is. It changes from person to person, but true happiness to me is laughing until I cry, hanging out with my family and having new adventures with my friends. It’s that point in time when you aren’t thinking about anything else, except for that moment in time. There are no other worries inside your head and all you can do is smile. I agree with Aizlinne because I don’t think that our lives should be based on money. I think that is ridiculous, but yet again, it is a necessity to our life. It might be a necessity to live, but it isn’t a necessity to be happy and that it where people start to get confused between the two.
    The things that push different people to be happy have a wide range. Aizlinne’s motivation is to stay out of that dark place of depression, while Anne’s motivation is just to be happy. For me, it is somewhat both. I hate where my family members with depression have been and I try to stay away from that as much as possible. The big smiles and the laughter from others are what make me happy, but I also feel like sometimes many people are trying too hard to have happiness. They aren’t truly happy, but won’t let anyone else now that.
    Happiness obviously changes between each person. It changes between what your motivation is to stay happy. Mine is to hopefully make other people happy. Other people are affected by the people around them and so I might not always be as happy as I am, but I act like I am, because I don’t know what the other people are going through. They might need a smile and just to see that happiness is possible. Do you think that sadness is needed in your life to really appreciate happiness? Do we lose our happiness as we get older?

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  7. Happiness is a mental state of well being charicterized by positive emotions ranging from content to intense joy. Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion. In my opinion though happiness is pure emotion. It is what helps people make it through the day. When you happy you feel on top of the world. There are different components that certain people need to be happy. For example one pearson could find happiness from their friends while another could find it from their family, job, or hobbies. I like what Aizlinne said about if you feel extreme discontent you will know what it feels like to be happy. The difference of emotion and the feeling you have when you are sad versus happy is amazing. When you are happy you feel like nothing can stop you. But when you feel sad its like nothing even matters. When you are truly depressed, you have a much greater apprecation for when things are on the right track and you are happy again. Along with that, I think what pushes people in life is to live a succesful life which leads to a happiness. I try to always look on life with a positive outlook and never be depressed so I can always be happy. I take each day one by one and try not to worry about what the future has in store for me because the only thing that affects the future is the present.
    How can people tell if the sense of happiness/sadness I feel is the same that other people feel?

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  8. I think that true happiness is really when you are happy with yourself and where you are at in your life. I think it means when you don't have an worry in the world and its really just an emotion. When your happy I think that you feel like you are on top of the world and you couldn't wish for anything more. Emotions are different for everyone and with the happy emotion I just feel as if this emotion will get you through the day and anything you do that day. Nothing can stop you when you are happy. I really like how Audrey said.. " Happiness obviously changes between each person. It changes between what your motivation is to stay happy." When i read hers i thought that when I read this line is really what pretty much sums up happiness. I think what people need to be happy is first that really they need to be happy with themselves, if they are not happy with themselves,then how will they ever be happy with in general. I also think that people have to have positive influences around them to be happy, if you are around negative people you will not be happy. I also think you need your family to be happy, since they will pretty much always be in your life. The last thing that i think people need to be happy is their hobbies or sports they do. I honestly think that people are happier if they are happy with their hobbies. I think you need to have a positive attitude to help push us to be happy, people who are negative will not be happy because all they will do is either bash or be mean to others and won't be happy. You need a good attitude and positive things in your life to be happy.

    Does everyone feel the same exact emotion of happy/sad feeling as I do? Or is it a different sense of happiness or sadness for each person?

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  9. Happiness is feeling joy, being content with who you are and what you have as well as your place in this world. I would agree that every person’s definition of happiness is different; however there is one underlying similarity, money. Personally, I don’t think money can buy happiness but if you asked someone what their definition of happiness is their response would have something to do with money.
    “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.”
    - Denis Waitley
    I believe that Mr. Waitleys quote is exactly right, happiness is not a vacation, clothing it’s the idea of gratitude, love and respect that you have for life. I think many people lose sight of these concepts because they are blinded by the war, famine, disasters, death, and many other negative ideas that are jammed in our faces on a daily basis. When we lose sight of happiness it begins to look like some farfetched fairy tale while in reality its right in front of your face you just have to look for it.

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  10. True happiness... Its a state of well being. I believe if you really want it, it's being serene with the way you are. You can't just recieve it blindly from wishing it. You have to want it, and try to make it happen by doing the things, and being around the people that make you happy. The biggest part I believe is being satasfied with yourself. Not only with what you do, but who you are as a person and what you stand for and knowing it. I've also heard that true happiness is when everything fits together. You, the things you love, and the way things are. There are so many things that can happen in this world, and if you choose to be... you can be happy. You NEED to want it. Happiness as cheesy as it sounds should drive and push us. It doesn't matter what you do, at the end of the day you just want to be content, and doing all that we can to achieve us might just be enough drive to push us through. Maybe you just have to work for happiness, and put in an effort for what you want in life to fulfill your happiness. One of the things that really make me happy is making others happy so, part if it is finding out what "truely" makes you happy. It's different for everyone. Just go for it.

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  11. I loved Rachel's question, "How can we learn to be content with what we have? How much happier could we potentially be if we didn't look for something more all the time?" I feel like we constantly look for somehting better. Weather that be materialistic or not, we are always looking ahead when sometimes we just need to stop and look around. Take a deep breath and be thankful for what we have been givin.

    Happiness,–noun,1. the quality or state of being happy. 2.good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy. This is how the dictionary defines happiness. "Being happy doesnt always mean everythings perfect, it just means you have decided to look past the imperfections"-Anonymous. I believe being happy is not just being "content" which is what our english dictionary tells us but being greatful for what has been givin to you and how lucky you are to have the everyday gifts that you do that some may not posses.

    What do you need to be happy? When asked this I think you would get a million different answers. What one needs to be "happy" i believe depends on the person. A baby whos months old may only need a small rattle to occupy its time to make it the happiest thing on earth, where as a young teen when asked may answer with cell phone, friends, clothes, more materialistic things. Some adults may never grow out of that adolescent phase and believe these things are the only things that will make them happy while others may respond with family, god health, a roof over their heads, simple things. Me? When im asked that question I posses one simple answer. My faith. My faith brings me to new levels that I could never reach with a cell phone, computer, clothes or any temporary filler that those give me. So i believe what makes people happy depends on the person at a specific moment in time.

    I feel like the idea of happiness alone should drive a person to find it. No one wants to sit in depression or sadness. I think that a majority of people are constantly looking for it. Some my find it in a matter of minuets and some may spend an entire life time looking for it. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" Its been set in our minds for centuries, and I believe that it will continue to be a dominating role in peoples lives for years to come.

    Can some one who has nothing, be happy? Can happiness be measured?

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  12. Being happy is something you have to learn. You have to learn to be content with your life and what is happening in it. Happiness is not your life being perfect and everything going your way. Its about taking those not so perfect things and doing the best you can with them, learning to live through the hard times and still find things everyday that make you smile. I also think that happiness is a feeling that cant really be explained. Its that moment of feeling something that makes you smile or be excited for absolutely no reason at all. True happiness is living passionately and enjoying every second. True happiness comes when your world is falling apart and you still can be happy. Dont get me wrong happiness also is when everything is going right but i think being happy when things are so broken is what makes it so real.
    For me personally my happiness comes from God. He is what I need to be happy. I live for him and He shines through me and that is what makes me content and truly happy. I can honestly say I'm not happy all the time. No one is, but i know that I am capable of being happy and most the time I am. I think in general most people need the things they care about most to be happy. Friends, family, things they are passionate about. I think happiness comes from those things you wake up for every morning and from those moments and memories that you wouldn't change for the world.
    I think that we shoudln't really be driven or pushed by happiness. Happiness can't really be pushed on you or forced to happen. It just happens. I think that when people chase after happiness then they wont find it. If you go after what you want, and follow your dreams and listen to your heart then you will arrive at happiness. But if your one goal is to chase happiness it will be hard to find it. You should be driven by your goals and while doing the things you love and being with people you love you will be happy.
    I love what Marcia asked about if everyone has the same sense of happiness or sadness. I think that is one of those questions that is impossible to answer but I think that everyone has different standards for what they think happiness is. I think it depends on what that person has gone through and if they have felt that emotion really strong at a certain time in life than they will have higher expectations for happiness.

    How do you know when you are truly happy? What defines that feeling?

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  13. I believe that happiness is not a long-term feeling because it is almost impossible to be completely content with ones life for an extended period of time. There are moments when I feel carefree and ecstatic about life, but there is always something that brings me back down. Very few people have reached a point in their lives where they desire nothing more than what they have. It is indeed human nature to want what we can't have and to easily look at all the negative aspects. However, true happiness is out there. I can see bits of it sometimes and that brings me hope that the next time it will last longer. In order to achieve this, humans need to want what they already have. They need to love as much as they can and have faith in some higher being. I think it is nearly impossible to have nothing and still feel good about their lives. You need someone to care about or something to feel accomplished about. And to answer another previous question, I do think that sadness is needed to really appreciate the happiness. If we were always happy, we would not know of anything else and maybe our definition of happy would start to form into something else, like numbness. Happiness is wonderful, but it is not all that we need. Even though the pain and suffering seems to last forever, it is essential to forming ourselves to face other challenges.

    Why is it so important for us to find happiness? And, can it be long-term?

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  14. True happiness is different for every single person in this world. Some people are truly happy by just getting a new phone every month and then bragging how happy they are for it. Others are happy whenever they are in relationships whether that be bf/gf or family and friends. For me, I am truly happy whenever I get to spend time with my family because I get to be with the people I love. I am happy because I am choosing what I want to do instead of going somewhere to chill and you don't really want to but you end up going anyway. In that situation you aren't very happy as you would be if you were doing something that you like.

    To be happy in life is a very important characteristic to possess. Happiness revovles around us all, some more than others. To be happy in life I believe you HAVE to have relationships, friends, and family. In my opinion without these three important aspects one cannot truly be happy. Others could say that you need materialistic things to make you happy and possessions. To be happy you need some sort of relationshipin your life.

    Like Jamie said above, "...happiness alone should drive a person to find it." I agree because people can't just sit around and wait to be happy, they have to go out there in search of happiness in order to find it. They need to establish relationships in their life and socialize with others. Those that are truly happy in life have looked for and found happiness in their life.

    Is happiness the most important aspect of our lives?

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  15. True happiness is not neccessarily what other people think happiness is. You do not need material things or a high paying job to be happy. True happiness is being content with what you have and appreciating the things that you do have instead of always wanting what you do not have. True happiness is recognizing the simple things that make you happy like a sunset or spending time with the people you love. Happiness is not always getting what you want or what you work hard for, it is knowing that working hard is enough. Noone can tell you if you are happy or not and noone can make you happy or not. Happiness is inside your own head and you control if you let yourself ignore the bad and just embrace the good. Happiness is not a emotion it is a mind set. We should push ourselves because that is what truely makes us happy. If we do things just because we have to or because other people want us to, we wont work as hard or be as successful. We have to want it for ourselves to strive for it.
    Teddi said that "Being happy is something you have to learn. You have to learn to be content with your life and what is happening in it. Happiness is not your life being perfect and everything going your way." I agree with that statement because you will only be as happy as you allow yourself to be. Rich and famous people are not genuinly happy even though we all think they are. We think that they are living the life and so they must be but they are just greedy people. They will never be content because they always want more and only think about themselves. Happiness does not just come from you getting what you want but it is helping others get what they want. The feeling of helping someone achieve their dream or watching someone finally succeed in what they have worked towards is what does/should make us happy.

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  16. Happiness is always lurking just beyond sadness. I believe, in a sense, that people are always either happy, or sad. I've found that there is no median between the two, and in some cases...most humans find a peculiar enjoyment in the darker side of life. Men like Edgar Allen Poe wrote about deep memories and random thoughts, whether imagined or true, this man spilled out his darkest thoughts on to paper. Some feel sadness or gloominess when they read his poems or short stories, but many people find the darkness very intriguing compared to the brightness and positivity of the happiness, in which people yearn to achieve. When put into perspective, happiness is much more genuine and fulfilling than sadness. And when your going from bad...to good, the goodness always seems much more amazing. I couldn't boast about happiness that comes with success, love, or even the positive feeling that comes with a sense of achievement. These thing all come with experiences. I am explaining why true happiness is automatic from birth, just as sadness is. Babies don't have any knowledge of the world around them, they gain the knowledge and needs as they age and experience failures, which goes along with sadness, and successes and redemptions which ties in perfectly with happiness. Life is about going from the bottom to the top of your own mountain. No one else's. We need purity, simplicity, and contentment to maintain happiness. I always have said to counter punch the bad things and that will always make the good...that much sweeter. Happiness is achieved on a personal level, and all happiness is always true. Some happy feelings are much more extreme, and this is when we as people should recognize that our brains are telling us that something is true and dear to us. This should drive us to follow the path of our happiness, which should inevitably lead us to greater things. Happiness and sadness are natural, they can be revealed, but never achieved.

    Do people think they invented happiness? Does happiness come naturally? What makes us think that it is out of reach?

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  17. To me true happiness isn't just one thing. It's a combination of things. Happiness is a sense of contentment, a feeling of satisfaction, an appreciation for the blessings you have, a realization that you are valuable just as you are no more or less than any other person,an excitement in knowing that there will always be something new and unknown to experience, and a confidence that everything will turn out just fine even when all seems to be falling apart. What do you need to be happy? Do you need $500,000 dollar house? A BMW? I don’t think anyone needs any of these things to be happy. I think we use many of these things to fill holes in our lives.Things like an expensive house and car elevates us in the eyes of our peers but none of these things will truly make us happy.You can never be truly happy until you are content with your circumstances, whatever they are. Find joy in family and friends, material things are not the answer to happiness. What should drive and push us? I think the motivation to succeed in the future should drive us. I know the hope to have a good job and be able to support a family drives me to work harder. One more thing on true happiness is that I disagree with what Amelia said that it is almost impossible to be content with your life for a long period of time. I disagree with that because your life is what you make of it and you can always be happy if you look at your blessings and can realize you are truly grateful.
    When and if when you feel truly happy. How can you make sure you never lose that feeling?

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  18. True Happiness. It's something that we all want. It's something that some of us actually have. But for those that don't, how do they get there?
    Like Renee said "Happiness is not an emotion it's a mind set." We can choose to let ourselves be happy or to not be happy. What gets us there is the light at the end of that tunnel. When you are so deep in misery you can hardly breathe, the one thing that helps you keep moving is seeing that TINY little glimmer of light. It's waiting for you to realize YOU are the only thing that is holding yourself back from true happiness. Then as you realize that, the light grows bigger and bigger until finally, everything is lit. True happiness IS NOT something you can earn, buy, steal, or bake out of a cook book. It's something that you achieve when you LET yourself achieve it. When you come out from under your self absorbed rock and see the world around you. True happiness is the state of mind you enter when you are helping other people win in their lives when you've already won in yours. The gratitude you feel is unbelievable. Happiness is happy. All one needs to be happy is some experience, a dash of compassion, and a whole canyon of love. Through all of the trial and error with these materials, out of it WILL come happiness. Happiness is something that stays in your life forever, when you let it stay. So when Amelia said "I believe that happiness is not a long-term feeling because it is almost impossible to be completely content with ones life for an extended period of time." She wasn't LETTING the idea, that happiness is eternal, enter her spectrum of belief. 
    To Nick Tice, to make sure you never lose the feeling of happiness, try letting the ingredients, I listed above, create you an eternal happiness.
      So here's my end statement. No question (sorry)
    I challenge ALL of you, to see that wonderful light and LET yourselves feel happiness no matter what form it comes in. Whether it is sharing your talent to make someone else's better or helping someone succeed just for the fun of it. It will come. Happiness will control you and you will NEVER let it go.

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  19. Happiness cant really be defined. It's like when people say you know love when you dont have it figured out, but if you say that you know what love is than you actually have no idea. Anyway, happiness can be an internal thing that fuels you to enjoy things, or it can be brought to you. Either way, happiness is somewhat of a reminder of all of the things that make your life worht living! That last sentance was the most genious thing i have ever said by the way. Need i say more? Happiness, as far as push and drive, can almost be like a drug. You may have that one time that you are super happy and then all you think about for the next week s how happy and content you were. In result, you reinact the aspects of your life that brought that moment to be, and live your life according to that one moment. My question for the world wide web... and Mrs. Comp's 6th hour english class is "do you ever think about your life and ask yourself if you are doing it the way you want it? Are you living your life for yourself and making it worth living?"

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  20. I both agreed and disagreed with Nick when he said "true happiness isn't just one thing". True happiness is a singular definition, and an infinite amount of definitions. As a singular, general definition, true happiness is to be in a state of complete content with and in one's life. I have a magnet on my fridge that talks about peace, and it can be related directly with true happiness. It says something like "Peace is not to be rid of distraction, noise, and chaos. It is to be in the midst of it all and still be content in your heart". In this life, all these detrimental things are unavoidable, so happiness has to be found within all this. This is only the singular definition for true happiness though. Happiness is also an infinite amount of definitions, due to the fact that people have their own unique desires which make them happy. Happiness can be found in art, music, crime, love, success, money, fame, power, destruction, fighting, sports and many other things. Whether good or bad, people NEED to have something or pursue something in order to be happy. This is because of the ambitious, wanting nature of humans. I do not believe anyone can be happy with nothing. All humans are pushed and driven by something. It just depends on what you believe in and what makes you happy.

    My question I have is this...is *true* happiness achievable? (keep in mind the ambitious nature of humans, and the idea that true happiness is to have no more longings or desires and to be completely content with life - or at least that's my definition of true happiness)

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  21. Oh! and i really like Aizlinne's question at the end about maintaining happiness! I think that is something that sometimes ruins our happy time, is wondering when it might end.

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  22. “Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” –Anonymous. Happiness to me is a choice. Everybody deals with conflict in their lives; you just have to decide how you will let it affect you. Happiness is the people you surround yourself with, the way you hold your head up, and looking at the little, beautiful things in life. Life is one big puzzle, and happiness is the key piece. The way I see it, if you aren’t happy, then what are you living for? What do you get up for in the morning, and what motivates you to have a good day? TRUE happiness comes from the heart. You can’t fake it. Even the smallest things, like a baby laughing, or watching a sunrise should put a smile on your face. TRUE happiness is the point in time when you honestly could say you are content with every aspect of your life, and you wouldn’t trade it for a thing. As I am lying here right now, I hear the sounds of sirens and fire trucks rushing to the scene of something terrifying. I’m thinking to myself, someone’s happiness may have just been crushed, taken away by a drunk driver, a person texting, or someone just not paying attention. Someone may have just lost a life; someone somewhere may have lost a loved one, a daughter, a son, a mother, a father. All of their happiness at this moment may have been snatched away within milliseconds of a crash. These are the times when I think about myself, and my life. What do I have that should be making me happy?
    All I need to be happy are my family and my friends. I need the loving support from my peers and everybody else around me. I need my family and friends to also be happy and healthy. If you aren’t happy with where you are at in life, make yourself happy. Change perspectives and change the people you hang out with if they’re bringing you down. You can always make it better. I believe our loved ones should drive and push us to be happy and make ourselves better.
    To reflect on Audrey’s question “Do you think sadness is needed in our lives to really appreciate happiness?” I think yes. We need our little wake up calls to realize what we truly have sitting right in front of us.
    Does your level of happiness deteriorate after being put through tough times like death, divorce, etc.?

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  23. Audrey, I absolutely LOVE the quote you posted. It is so true. I also liked the question you asked. I do believe that we need to experience sadness to actually know what happiness feels like. If we didn’t have sad moments then happiness would be an emotion we had all day every day so it would become normal for us. Without sadness we wouldn’t be able to learn from tough experiences. This made me think of Sydney. Although the past year has been extremely hard on everyone, I realized that the sadness this experience has caused me has made me a stronger, happier person. I have learned from this and grown as a person. The little things make me happy now, and before they didn’t. I learned to appreciate everything in life. All the smiles, the laughs, the silly jokes; they all piece together to make you feel happy. Also, I have never met a little girl who is so happy to be alive. She lives every day to the fullest. She always has a smile on her face. This shows that you don’t need all the stupid material goods, you don’t need the fancy cars and stuff, all you need is life. This is what true happiness is. Sydney’s situation should be enough to drive and push anyone to be happy. If it doesn’t, you need a reality check. Honestly. Why do some people struggle to find happiness? Why can’t they learn to put things into perspective?

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  24. True happiness is being fully satisfied with you life and everyone and everything in it. I fully believe that true happiness comes from within and you cannot rely on anyone to keep you fulfilled 24/7. I believe that true happiness comes from the simple things in life. It is all the little things that count. For example, seeing a baby smile or laugh, recieving a compliment, or spending time with the ones you love. These moments can give you more happiness than all the money in the world. These are the moments that can change your mood upside down. In order to be happy I think it is necessary to have family and friends that love and care for you. I know that I would not be able to get by without them and even though things don't always go my way these are the people that keep me sane. The feeling alone from happiness should push us to find happiness. It is the best feeling in the world to be completly satisfied. When you are truly happy those ordinary things that would normally bring you down don't bother you. I would like to respond to Audrey's questions " Do you think sadness is needed in our lives to truly appreciate happiness?" I believe that sadness is necessary to see all the things we are blessed with and how things could be even worse. I think sadness brings a whole new appreciation for life and makes you count your blessings. My question is, Is happiness the only important thing in life? Is complete happiness available to everyone?

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  25. True happiness is getting a paycheck. True happiness is being able to let time fly and not care where the minutes are going. True happiness is going out on a Friday night and being with your favorite people in the world. True happiness is sharing laughs. True happiness is the feeling of the wind in your face on a summer day on a 2-lane highway going 20 over. Everyone’s perception of happiness is going to be different. I don’t necessarily think that you need anything at all to be happy. It depends on your lifestyle and what fits your fancy. For me, I need a car, friends and money. That’s it. I need a car to get my where I need to be and maybe even out of place that I don’t want to be. I need friends to live up the good life and money to pay for it. It’s as simple as that. I saw a re-occurrence of something along the lines of ‘pursuing happiness’ and ‘you don’t know what happiness is until you feel it’, kind of things. I agree with both, I think people should be driven by the outcome of your pursuit. For example, for lack of better wordage in that last sentence, say you want a new car, or you want to send your kid to college. If you really truly want it, and know that it’s going to bring you that true happiness you’ve always wanted to live for, wouldn’t you work hard and push yourself to achieve your goals?

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  26. To be truly happy, you don't really need that much. For me to be happy, all I need is people around me that I enjoy being with, and time; if we have time, we will find something to do. Money doesn't even have to be part of the equation. While money can take you places and buy you fun things, it can never replace the company of people that are there just to have as much fun as you. I think people focus too much now a day on being the next ".com billionaire." Why? You only get one life. Kick back, relax, and never concern yourself with trifle things. Don't make something a priority when it barely deserves to be on the to do list.

    Can people be happy with being simple now, or does this communication era force people to adapt and fit into the culture?

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