Thoughts: The Nature of Happiness
A person much smarter than me once said that "building towards happiness is productivity"
Regardless, I want to be able to build a platform on which the rest of my life may perch. Think of this as a foundation or start, I'm in college rn so I can't say how I'm going to do that but I am going to do that anyway.
But, what is it that you the reader think is the best way to find happiness?
Go on. I'll wait.
If I can anticipate your answer, you aren't wrong, but, you aren't right either, at least not for me
It might be right for you but that's not something I would know.
Imagine for a second you are given the power to make sure you can lie a happy life, would that life, from that point forward be happy immediately? The answer is no; because you wouldn't have used that power yet and you also wouldn't have thought about what you want or how you wanted that to come.
This is idea #1: immediate, indefinite happiness is impossible because you will not be able to maintain something for that long
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: THIS PERSON HAS NOT HAD CHILDREN NOR HAS HE RAISED THEM; TAKE ANY ADVICE WITH A GIANT GRAIN OF SAND, TOWNSEND WRITING INC. IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DROWNING CHILDREN IN SALT OR MIS-MANAGED PARENTING
What is possible is long-lasting happiness that you work for and maintain, but is low on most occasions. Think of parenthood, a thing most people say would make them happy, this thing is long-lasting and arduous, you have to deal with increased levels of stress (Be it from midnight calming sessions, or getting into fights with your teenager, or even telling your toddler no for the first times, yes, it's plural), but most people will say it's worth it for two reasons, the first is because you worked hard to reach that point, so you are satisfied that they turned out to be a decent person, or the other is the joy you feel when being around a loved one, especially since you had a hand in creating said loved one.
Parents can also be both a blessing or a curse (They can be your angle or your daimen) because while parents can nurture and care, they can also hurt deeply and irreparably, this is because they are our closest companions for most of our lives until adulthood, this means they have the most access to and can create your emotional buttons, as well as remove any new additions, but the last one can be the most difficult because if they don't know a button exists they can't and won't do anything about it. This happens most often, at least in my experience, because a parent makes their child uncomfortable or embarrassed about things that happen to them, be it rape, self-hate, and self-harm, general sadness, scars from another parent, political view, sexual identity, religious affiliation, etc. This may happen because the parent made an offhand remark about something they care deeply about in a negative way when children are young.
Not everything happens for a reason, the only forces in our lives are our own will, the will of those around us, and the literal forces of nature, some things do happen for a reason, people get murdered because other people want them dead, people fall in love because of chemicals in our brains, life unfolds and people ignore it because they don't know what they're missing.
Ultimately the true nature of happiness is that we, as humans, build a house, reach the top of a corporate ladder, compete against others in meaningless things, and find love. These all require work and luck to happen, nothing can be solved by snapping your fingers or yelling, or thrashing about in pointless arguments, no matter how fun they may be, and nothing comes immediately while still feeling good. You may agree or disagree, but this is my book, not yours, so talk to me and we can try to understand each other.