Happiness is Not Just a Warm Puppy

Just what IS this thing called "happiness"? My old trusty companion, Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines at as 1. Good fortune; prosperity or 2. A state of well-being or contentment or 3. Pleasurable satisfaction. But, it’s much more than just the sum of those, and far more than the individual definition. And, most importantly, it can be so many different things to different people. It can be fleeting, or it can last a lifetime.

There is the unmitigated glee of a four-year old diving headlong into his presents early on Christmas Day. Or, perhaps, that of his parents knowing they nailed those presents this year.

Or, how about building the first sand-castle on the beach, complete with towers and moats, and twigs and leaves as flags flying on each turret. This can be followed by watching the tide roll in, knowing even as the castle slowly sinks back into the beach, that there will be many more castles built that summer. The first can be fun, the second contentment.

Then there is the joy of a prank well planned and played out. The satisfaction of hearing the audience cheer and clap as you answer a curtain call after that play or ballet or piano recital can certainly be described as happiness, not to mention a certain degree of pride (parental or personal, depending on who is on stage).

Or what about just sitting on a quiet and befogged beach, early in the morning, playing your flute to the accompaniment of seagulls and the calming sounds of the surf lapping along the edge of the beach?

The deep contentment of a cup of tea with a close friend after a morning of frenzied mall shopping counts as happiness, too. So does a good report card brought home by a budding scholar.

So, glee, contentment, relaxation, quiet times, pride, are all part of happiness, at least for me.