How to be happy?

Wikipedia defined happiness as a prolonged or lasting emotional or affective state that feels good or pleasing. Why despite the overwhelming pressures of the week that passed and the ton of work at the office would I be reading about articles on happiness? What the heck! It’s the perfect way to console myself, after all watching the rain pour for a couple of days and not being able to do what you want while waiting for the SUV to be restored (had a road accident on my way to work the other Friday which is of course the other person’s fault), is no fun at all.

In order to shift away from depressing moments and to avoid sinking in disappointment, I hit the search engines for the word happiness – self medication. One by one I opened the links to articles on happiness. I came across a couple of interesting theories and paradigms about the subject, intellectual discussions and ideas which are all so informative and really helpful. Overflowing materials, most of them I just banked in my small memory capacity midbrain, who knows if those information will be processed or flushed later – hahaha! Who cares! My current objective is to make me feel better so for the time being, micro preferential reading suits me. I landed into this article called your own happiness manifesto, very appropriate. I told myself, I will account for the things that make me happy for, just thinking about it/them already makes me happy.

So here it is, my own happiness manifesto, people, things, and activities that make me feel good:

• A good laugh – whether it’s laughing with my husband, my children, or with friends, I usually laugh loud, putting all my energy into it.
• Leisure driving – without destination is more effective; adventurously exciting.
• Flashing back selected memories – Memory lane is crowded with sweet and happy thoughts, but the sweetest and funniest I recall over and over is when I celebrated my birthday with Brack for the first time. It was extraordinary and something I won’t forget. Try asking him what happened that night and tell me about his initial facial reaction as you ask him the question.
• Food and Cold Drinks – I’m one of the many who associate happiness with pleasure. I love sashimi, pad Thai chicken, seafood noodles, guava juice, cold tea, and milkshakes.
• Singing without an audience – self explanatory.
• Reading – Between the tube and the paper? I prefer the latter, although one of my favorite shirts says “Why read books, when you can watch the movies?”
• Shop and tell – getting along with girlfriends asking and checking out what they bought this time or vice versa. Giggling about freebies, markdowns and bargains. The principle really is retail therapy.
• Electronic gadgets – closely associated with the principle mentioned above.
• Travel – St. Augustine quoted, “the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Very true, near or far, what a pleasure it is to have a firsthand experience of people, places, and things different from yours.
• Sharing and being grateful – beginning or end of day, I count my blessings. There is a reason, there is a purpose, although I’m guilty of questioning sometimes, when things aren’t as clear to me, I do appreciate others, circumstances, events, and material things that come my way. I also feel gratified when I share...

How to be happy?

Stop pursuing happiness, stop asking yourself if you are one, just do the things you love. Enjoy others, enjoy things, enjoy life – cease trying too hard to be happy, happiness will come to you, free of charge!

The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase; if you pursue happiness you'll never find it. C P Snow