Of Happiness

I have a very strong memory of a conversation with a friend. We would have been in our 20’s and hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years. He asked me how I was, and I’d replied “Happy”.I was not prepared for his reaction.It was a tirade. How dare I be happy? He had taken a pseudo-Christian Old-Testament position, where suffering equates a dependence on God to provide. Being happy? You’re pretty much removing God from the equation.It did get me thinking though. I was shocked that someone held that belief in this day and age, and in this country. He was one step away from sitting in ashes and scraping himself with a piece of broken pottery.Was it OK for me to be happy? Of course it’s OK.Here’s the dictionary definition of happiness: It is state of well-being and contentment : joy.In recent months I feel that I have, in fact, achieved this. I have balance in my life. I’m content with what I have. I have also removed some highly toxic people that were just chipping away, niggling. They’re gone.And they have been replaced by some extraordinary people who energise, encourage and give me purpose.Here’s a quote attributed to John Lennon: “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”If I can add to people’s happiness then my journey is on track.It is a good thing to keep in the front of my mind.- S