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Happiness. It is laughter, joy, pleasure, bliss, nirvana, heaven, contentment. Fleeting or lasting, happiness is a goal for everyone. Our hopes and dreams are driven by our need to be happy. We're always keen to do whatever it takes to be happy. Some people work hard and save money while others are born with a silver spoon; others fight for their country while others just stay out of trouble; some people move mountains while others move their little finger. Whether it's easy or hard, we're all capable of being happy in our own way. Why then are there so many overtly unhappy people? We know that the face value of money and material things does not instantly make us happy. We spend most of our time figuring out what makes us and the people we care about happy. It is hard enough to know what really makes us happy, let alone what makes others happy.

Find yourself. Ultimately, the most important person for you is yourself. If you can't make yourself happy, how can you make others happy? Get to know who you are: your taste, your style, your voice, your dreams. For some people just being able to know themselves IS happiness in itself. You can travel the world and not find you - you who cries inexplicably, unexpected; you who suddenly gives a complete stranger a lift; you who, out of the blue, refuses to talk and shuts off everybody. Oftentimes, we give ourselves the biggest surprise.

Alright, now, let's assume we have found ourselves, does it become easier to be happy? We are surrounded by despair, war, hunger, disease, poverty, unwantedness, unemployment, deceit, oppression, suicide, natural disasters, horrific accidents, sadness....Look inside and you will find the reason why you wanted happiness for yourself and others.

Happiness is a state of mind. Fleeting happiness is an emotion and emotions reflect the way we feel about things around us. If we see something sad, we sympathize and so on. We can also create or control what happens to us to a certain extent such as, deciding not to go to a known dangerous place, thereby, preventing a bad incident. To a large extent, we can choose and decide what we want to see, do and think. We can choose green instead of blue; tomorrow instead of yesterday. We can do, make, project and create happiness. We can choose how we see things. What is inside us shows. Even the saddest situation can viewed as a positive, enlightening one. Happiness is a choice. When one tries to manifest happiness, it produces units of little happy stuff. Just by wanting to be happy is already a ticket to happiness. You can't create happiness using sad thoughts and negative energies. That is not to say, that sad situations are not valid or substantiated. Everything has a purpose; it just depends how you use it.

The journey to happiness has begun; we always had everything we needed. Happiness is within. Believe, create, experience. Be aware of the thoughts that you put in your head, as they will become your actions and your personal reality. Analyze your habits. Are those the habits you are happy with? If not, change them. Familiarize and be comfortable with the elements that give you happiness. Own your habits, take responsibility for them. Happiness is in your hands.

Learn more about this author, Rosario Buenaflor.
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