The definition of happiness is... who the Hell knows. Can anyone really define happiness? It means different things to different people, from the extremes of winning lots of money to perhaps finding a pound on the ground. Happiness in yourself, can be a different matter. Maybe just appreciating what you have or where you are in life can be enough to make you contented. And looking around you, not relishing in the misery or others but just seeing how fortunate you are can work wonders for your mentality. Every day can be a happy time, I think you just need to look for it.
When you are content, the whole world can see it, it radiates from you in such a way that it's almost tangible. It gives you energy, makes you feel bouncy, gives you a glow so powerful that you can infect others around you with it. You can actually pass on the love by smiling at someone that you meet along your path, ever thought of that? A genuine smile from someone can make light of your day. Having a perfect stranger smile at me when I am bumbling down the street can transport me to cloud nine for hours. Maybe it's just me, but when I am somewhere and I see someone on their own being happy or with a smile on their face, it makes inner Laura grin from inner ear to inner ear. Real mirth and joie de vie gets people going, and can be more pandemic than a winter flu.
I like to make people happy too, it satisfy's my need to make sure that the world is OK, and makes me literally light up inside when I can see I have helped someone out, made them comfortable, listened to them when they needed an ear to bend or cheered them up in someone. I think my lack of maternalness when it comes to children and not really wanting them, has come out in another way, that of wanting to help and mother the world. Maybe that is a tad excessive wanting to help the entire planet, but one person each day has a remarkable effect on my well being.
Another great thing about happiness, is that you can literally find it anywhere. And I mean everywhere. You don't have to search hard for it. It can be in your favourite song coming on the radio, hanging with your family, spending time with your friends, being around animals, a sunset, the stars at night, being on the beach, reading, creating, and most importantly, finding it when you are on your own. The last one rings true for me in particular. Much and all as I adore reading and the stars etc, being on my own can make me immensely happy. Don't get me wrong, I am a sociable person (my mother actually thinks I am always out, ahem, "partying") and do really enjoy being around people, but there is nothing nicer than coming back into my own space and my own cocoon. I like putting my favourite song of that day on repeat a good six or seven times, flinging my shoes into the wardrobe, interviewing myself for a magazine for when my Stephen Christ novel (coming sometime soon to an imaginary bookshop near you) becomes a world wide hit while waiting for my kettle to boil, going to back to repeat the song again, and then lounging around for the evening. It might seem sad, but its a key factor in the Fairy Bubble.
No one can give you advice on really how to unleash your inner happiness, only you can truly make yourself happy, and when you do, you can do the same for everyone around you. The only advice I can give you for happiness is to not look for it at the bottom of a bottle or in a powdery plastic bag, because while they all might have their time and place, you won't find long term happiness there. And when you do find something that makes you happy...hold onto it.
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