You don’t expect anyone to make you happy, do you?
You do? Oh, I think I understand: it’s a good solution for you, it’s available, it’s affordable and it sure is better than doing nothing. So you find supplies of some stuff that makes your life easier to endure: some pills, some books, a church, an institution, a professional.
All you have to do is to pay: with your money, loyalty or obedience.
Here comes the bad side: once you start paying you’ll keep paying. In exchange for your submission, you’ll keep receiving supplies of happiness. And also a promise: you’ll never need to be responsible for yourself. Or to know what you are. Or to know what you want. So just relax and accept it all.
In the long run this solution makes you an addict.
Will it work though? Will you be happy?
Well, kind of. Yes, you will get through the day carried by your daily portion of external happiness.
But I have a better idea: happiness that comes from the inside. The key is to find the source of happiness that does not come from the outside, but stays inside of you.
To find it, to make it live by itself, you need to find answers to two key questions:
Who are you?
What do you want?
It’s the part that you have to do yourself.
I’m terribly sorry, but there really is no way around this. If there was I would simply give it to you, or sell it to you. Every happy person, in order to be happy, needs either to be a really, really simple person (you know, like a 4-year old child), or to get to know himself. Since you are here, the chances are you’re no longer that simple. You know too much. You’ve seen too much. So now knowing yourself is the way for you to go forward.
Fortunately, you don’t need to do it all alone! Technically speaking you’re the only one who can get the answer to the questions “who am I?” and “what do I want?” But it doesn’t mean you have to be all lonely and secret about your exploration.
On the contrary: the more you confront yourself with the outside world, they more you get to know about yourself!
So, why don’t you go and talk to your friends! Ask them questions about you, about them, about life and death. Find out what makes them want to live, find out what makes them happy. It’ll give you ideas. It’ll let you discover more points of view.
And if you’re already on that road to knowing yourself, if you have already decided to hunt for your happiness, if you want to be happy, why don’t you join the club?
Yes, it may be a silly club, we are not trying to rule the world here or find the cure for cancer, but that’s exactly the point! I am only a silly little human, passing through the earth for some time. And so are you. Let’s allow ourselves to be silly little humans passing though. And let’s enjoy the ride together.
And if you’ve already found what you’re looking for, if you found your happiness in life, my sincere congratulations! I’m happy for you. I’m also happy for myself. I’d like to encourage you to help others now. Whatever way you can.
Don’t be too shy about being happy. There is so little happiness in the world right now, that every unexpected, honest smile can make a difference.
