The Persuit of Happyness
This piece stems from a conversation I had with a friend the other day. Out of the blue, he asked me, “What does happiness mean to you?” Honestly, I was caught off guard and didn’t know how to answer. I even stuttered a bit before saying something like, “Happiness is when you’re mentally healthy, your needs are met, you’re physically healthy, and you get what you want.” But as soon as I said it, I questioned myself: “Is that really true?” I realized that I’ve never actually defined what “happiness” means to me. For the longest time, I thought happiness was just about encountering or experiencing pleasant things—like buying something from my wishlist (on the material side) or receiving a compliment (on the non-material side). But now I’m starting to wonder: Are those really happiness? Or are they just fleeting moments of pleasure? For the next two days, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I even searched online to see what others had to say about happiness. Some said, “Happiness is the f...