Authentic Happiness
Authentic happiness is true and unconditional happiness. When someone associates the word authentic to any other word, it is merely describing the integrity and the strength of the other word. When we say authentic leather, for example, we will easily picture in our minds some excellent and a top of the line quality leather. This is easy to judge if it is true or not just by one look and some simple inspection. From this we could easily know of the real quality of the leather. When we say “authentic happiness”, is there a way to know? Can we inspect the person physically who is claiming to have authentic happiness? Only the person feeling that state of being “happy” can really attest to his or her true feelings and oftentimes they may even lie to themselves.
The authenticity of one’s happiness depends largely on the stability of that happiness and its strength to endure. If you ask a toddler if he’s happy, generally, they will say ‘yes’ but you will find them in tears only a few minutes later when they don’t receive their candy. When you ask a student, a worker, a parent or a spouse, they may reply a big ‘No’ simply because they are now facing a new reality of life and are taking some time to become accustomed to their situation. We encounter situations everyday which may not be exactly what we like but some people seem to be capable of magically brushing their problems aside and getting back to work. Other become entrenched in negativity and simply don’t have the energy to become successful. We are acquainted with people whom may not be of our same frequency, and we may commit mistakes upon which we do not know how to correct.
How can a person be happy, authentically speaking, when he or she has problems? The critical factor lies in the way you view problems as they appear. Available inspirational books, guides to personality development, articles on how to deal with emotional stress and many other self-help reading materials may be great help in enforcing a happier life. Most of the time, however, we find ourselves largely dependant upon our own inner strength to get us through life’s trials and tribulations.
Aside from the very rare life changing events which take place in the event of a tragedy or a near-death experience, authentic happiness doesn’t seem to come very easily. It requires an inner commitment to the task and an ongoing devotion to find something deeper our of life. By searching inside ourselves and putting ourselves to extra challenges each day, we eventually are forced to look deeper inside ourselves and to uncover the source of true happiness. It is very easy to be “happy” for a day or a few hours but being in a state of having “authentic happiness” means an ongoing sense of bliss which is only achieved by a select few individuals. It is something that doesn’t come from mere material things but is an “inner peace” that endures beyond the superficial circumstances of the world.
How in the world can we achieve this inner peace? According to the book entitled “The Art of Happiness”, which talks about the insights of the Dalai Lama, happiness is the purpose of life and the motion of life is always moving towards happiness. The many meditations, conversations, and stories written in this book boil down into only single thing. Inner peace is the key to authentic happiness and you have to begin by accepting your humanity and the fact that you are not perfect. Then we learn to face our sufferings and turn them into something more meaningful. We try to look at them more purposefully and appreciate the small things in life. We must try to always be optimistic as this is one of the significant keys to having a happy life. Learning to watch our negative emotions such as anger, fear and insecurity will eventually lead us out of these emotions and into a peace within our inner selves.
