Perspective: Happiness

By: Florence Ruby C. Bayog

Material things are not everything and are no longer the true measure of happiness. Putting our fingers cross on it is just a matter of shrugging our shoulders, but it is hard to escape the fact that there is something not quite right on how we perceive pleasure.

I was thinking about it while playing a bottle of mineral water that has been stocked for several days in the office. I’m thinking about what really make us happy. Is there an exact science for ways to make us happier? Is the well-being state a bad idea?

I am running out of ideas.

Quick: Think of everything that would really make you happy: peers, jewelry, cars, gadgets, more money and being rich?

“If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless. The richer you are, the more mouths you have to feed. All you gain is the knowledge that you are rich. Workers may or may not have enough to eat, but at least they can get a good night’s sleep. The rich, however, have so much that they awake worrying.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-12).

Now think about what would make you most unhappy: losing your sight or a having been afflicted with cancer? Well, it’s not what it really means. .

“Sorrow is better than laughter; it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding. Someone who is always thinking about happiness is a fool. A wise person thinks about death.” (Ecclesiastes 7:3-4)

As I ponder unto it, I realize that these are just one of the facets that is part of the larger perspective of happiness. The point is, we are terrible at assuming the source of our happiness. Whatever choice we make, we believe it was all for the best. No matter what choice we make in search of happiness, there’s a good chance we’ll decide based on our foresight.

Aristotle said that eudaimonia, or happiness is the goal of life and making our life worthwhile is crafted in the health of the children, the quality of their education, the joy of their play, the strength of marriages, devotion to country, wit, wisdom and courage. None of those can be measured by money or wealth and this is what happiness usually calls for- happiness based on economics. It affirms that happiness is everywhere and well-being is a simple fraction of happiness. It takes long to grasp the answer why happiness is everywhere, why well-being is a simple faction of happiness when in fact many strive for higher earnings because money will give them a choice and measure of freedom and would probably give them pleasure.

Sometimes, I end up confused of what true happiness brings in life. It took me a hard time to ponder on which sense of happiness I would really embrace. It’s like choosing between two apples: the red and the green. The problem is, I like them both. The choice I’ll make is the key to what I really want to happen in my life.

Sometimes, I find myself sitting in the bleachers looking at other students laughing and talking to their friends about what had happened in their previous days. I asked myself why I cannot be like them. Why am I thinking so much of the next day, following week or next month? Why am I thinking more about my future? Why can’t I be satisfied and happy within? I told myself to stop pretending. I told myself that if I’m not happy, I should not pretend that I am. Instead, I must pray to find the answers that would be enough to know what made me so unhappy.

Life often is unpredictable and the happiness that it brings is a matter of consequence and reward. We might never know what will happen next, but we are always assured of a bright light in every end of the tunnel.

As I start to count the years of my studies, I realized that in almost 15 years, there’s only one thing in my mind that cannot be solved through Mathematics. This is immeasurable that even the brightest man in the world can do nothing about it or even the greatest mathematicians cannot devise an exact formula for it and that is happiness.

As I look into the hammered-like surface of the bottle of mineral water, it was then I thought that life is not all about happiness. I decided to enjoy myself and find out what happiness is. But I found that this is useless, too. I discovered that laughter is foolish, that pleasure does you no good (Ecclesiastes 2:1-2). After all, I realize that what is important is the love of the family and God that set me in proper perspective of my life now.

I never understood before the goodness of life without happiness. I never thought that it would be better if we share ourselves to others and try to live their life even just a day. I never thought that the true happiness may come from the unusual things that we do. This time, I know that it springs from the moment we help other people, from the time that we make them happy to the time that we share in their tears and sorrows.

Just like finding a piece of color in the Rubik’s cube that matches the others is just like life struggling to complete its pieces. Learning the priorities is much important not merely happiness at all times. We must be given more emphasis on finding the missing pieces in ourselves because we cannot be as happy as we want if we never feel the completeness of the experiences that we had.

This time, I cherish my life with my parents by giving them simple happiness through better performance in the school. As I look back on the days that I was born, I know that my parents were happy because they believed that I could be someone; a writer, an achiever and a good son. Everyday I am persuading myself to give my best shot in all I do. I am trying to be kind and to give hellos and pleasant smiles as I can to the people around me to make them happy for a while. I always remember that life is cruel, that it has so many cautions and I must be aware because there are really people who may misinterpret what I’m trying to convey and show.

When my eyes passed the clock, its past 10 o’clock in the evening and still I’m holding this bottle of mineral water. I didn’t even notice that it’s almost distorted from my hands while thinking about the different sides of happiness with which I can derive many perspectives in the world. It just depends on me on how I interpret those clues. Sometimes, there are scenes beyond my control, but I can put it between my fingers if I look at it in different perspectives.