Happiness is Not an External Thing to be Found
On Filters and Illusions that Mask our Innate Happiness
The search for happiness is one of the most fundamental and universal driving forces in us. Yet happiness seems to be extremely elusive, and even people who seem to have it all figured out are often deeply unhappy.
The problem is that we are frequently looking for happiness in the wrong places.
Happiness is not really a thing to be found, but more something to be unveiled within ourselves. It is the absence of unhappiness. It is our default state.
We just need to look at young children. If there are no immediate worries, concerns or stresses, we are simply happy.
The problem is that this happiness is often buried very deep, under layers and layers of illusions, social pressures, and false beliefs. And instead of trying to remove these issues, we are instead frequently focused on external things, both material as well as conceptual, in the hope to find happiness.
It is easy to confuse happiness with fun, and not too infrequently we end up choosing short term fun over long term happiness.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with fun for its own sake, and it can even be a big contributor to happiness. But it gets problematic…
