What is Happiness?

I have been aware lately that I really don’t know what happiness is. At least not for me.  I am not sure I have a good idea of what I consider fun either.  I can more easily say what I don’t think is fun or what does not seem to make me happy.

Happiness or the state of being happy seems to usually be about some outside influence, person, place or thing.  New shoes, clean sheets or tickets to a Giants game are all suppose to be avenues to happiness.  But maybe they are really just fun things.  It is fun to have new shoes, clean sheets or tickets to the game.  These things are not really the definition of happiness.  “Things” are not really the definition of happiness.  Yet being healthy or at least capable of taking care of yourself seems like a necessary aspect of happiness. Or is that a judgment?

The question remains; can I be happy or feel happy without any preconceived notions to define happiness?  I know I have spent many years thinking that I would be happy when I lost 20 pounds.  But putting this condition or any other condition on myself really limits my chance for happiness.

I have said before that I believe happiness is an inside job.  I stand by that.  Outside influences or conditions are so temporary.  My feelings of happiness can be fairly temporary too, but I still feel there is a difference.  When I am completely honest with myself and let go of all the desires and outside influences or worries as aspects to happiness something somewhat different occurs.  I become much more present in my “now” and I realize that I really do have everything I truly NEED (not want) to be happy right here, right now.

I also like the feeling of all the conditioning drifting away.  Happiness is not really about my clean kitchen or my washed car.  Happiness is about a moment in time when I stop all the thinking, start feeling and realize I am in that moment: happy.