TheApple

 I agree with you that it is a moment and when it comes should be remembered so that it can add something special to another moment when things don't see so happy. There is a country in Asia who defines it self not by gross national products but by gross national happiness. I say a great movie about this group and all was well until the new king let American television into the country and the rise in crime and depression increased. The women thought they were ugly because they were large boned and did not look like the women in the movies.

There have been times when something special happens my life I like to define it as a miracle. Those miracles have caused major changes and resulted in great inner wealth. That inner wealth seems to provide a quiet happy feeling.

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Warmly,

Katherine Bolman, Ph.D.

www.ahaafoundation.org/

I think that happiness is more than 10 seconds.   I am grateful for what I have, but I don't think that I would really be happy until I get married to the right person.

 Ah, happiness - a much misused word. Lots of times when people say they're happy, what they really mean is they're content. Happiness is rare indeed - and thank goodness for that since it's exactly its rarity that makes it so precious. Funnily enough, we often don't even know we're happy until the happiness has passed - happiness is often only appreciated in retrospect.

Those who experience times of happiness are blessed - and cursed - for there are no peaks without deep valleys. And those who are capable of achieving true happiness are also able to plunge further into sadness and even despair than most of us. 

 Personally, I'm quite content with being content most of the time. Contentment can last whereas happiness comes and goes so swiftly.

I voted "No", but then I don't think anyone has a "perfect, happy life." And thank God for that - can you imagine how boring that would get after a while?

So , we can't reach happiness just because we don't look for inside our souls, What I do know is that happiness is something difficult reach but we all want to have it.

Maybe we need to put lower to level of happiness to make it available for all.

Teacher411 has it!  Yes - It's all in the attitude!  I feel that happiness is how you perceive things around you (good and bad) and a state of contentment (as Johnslat eloquently writes)!

I don't think we can say a lot more or different about happiness, since so much has been written on this topic. But I'll try to explain my perception of it.

I don't see happiness as a great excitment or even extatic feeling, I think I feel it peacefully. It's a state when I don't  NEED anything else but the circumstances I'm in at the time. Some would call it contentment...but I believe it's happines( because I'm a modest girl )  in its simplicity.

Yes, my life is perfectly happy and it is because of its imperfection too.

Some days ago I posted in other topic (LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT) how hard is to say "I lOVE you" in Spanish. I commented that you can feel love but in Mexico, almos all mexicanos  say "want" instead  of love. "To want somebody" means to love somebody.

"To love" is easy to feel  but hard to say, "to be happy" is easy to say but hard to feel"

Fernando Longinos Hidalgo.

I voted no to the poll because I'm not sure what "perfect happiness" is, so I assume I don't have it.  I agree with others that happiness is relative and can only really be identified in comparison to other, less than happy, experiences and feelings.  I also like the idea of happiness as expressed in moments of time.  Happiness is Zeus, my Springer Spaniel, and I fly-fishing a two mile stretch of the local creek! 

Johnslat speeks of prolonged happiness in terms of contentedness, and while I agree with his points, I'm not sure contentedness is the right word.  There are times when I feel satisfied (content) for a long period of time, but there are also times when I feel "happy" for a long period of time.  Of course this sort of happiness is not the same as the joyous happiness that is experienced only momentarily, but it is not exactly the same is simple contentedness either.  Perhaps I need another word to clarify theses three "levels" of happiness?  Any ideas?

I agree with the quote by Milton. It is the revolving door of this because of that and that without this. Going through trials and maintainin a sense of happiness, joy, contentment, or whatever we decide to call the internal feeling or emotion is very difficult. I keep my internal joy becuase it is not based upon my circumstancials, but on the realization that we all go through trials and it is that all trials are for a moment and then they too shall pass leaving us once again on the balance of life. I find joy in the fact that I awoke this morning to take another breathe and be an example for my daughter. Life is hard, but being miserable takes so much from life, it is my choice to be who I am and live to be my best even during my worst.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

angel33 says ...

I voted no to the poll because I am not sure that "perfect happiness" exist.  I believe that most of us live our lives in contentment.  I believe that there is no such thing as perfect anything. Everyones preception is different so what I may think is contentment maybe someone else's happiness. then ... somewhere somebody lives in perfect happiness.

Yes, it's hard for us to think about perfection in our lives because we were educated and educate that the perfection y something that is not for human,  yes we are not perfect but we do perfect things and we can live a perfect live if we want to.  To live in this society, "modern society", make us unhappy or make us think that happiness is something that is not for us, it could be for people like singer, actors,  baseball players, Billy Gates etc.

I have noticed that you, English speakers, have the same problem with the word "happiness" than we have in Spanish with the word "Love". We prefer to use other word becuase because the word "love" is too BIG and difficult to reach.

 

Oh this is good, we can entertain the concept of "perfect life" now. I don't know about most of you, but I think my life and situation is 'perfect' for me, but others might think my life is far from perfect. Or maybe it is that I am perfect for the life I am living. If we discuss it in the concept of a definition then it might not exist, but if we think about as an abstract idea then we might be able to obtain the ideal of the perfect life.

I think it all depends on the state of mind a person is looking from. I know from experience that life is not always what we plan, but I do enjoy the life I am living and am extremely greatful that I am living it. I could have become worm food overnight, but thank God I woke up and am breathing for another day. That is the perfect life for me.

 The pursuit of happiness - it's mostly pursuit with very little obtaining. But that's OK; it's again a case of the journey, not the destination, being important.

" . . . but there is an element of safety and having property tied up in this happiness. Thoughts?"

If security is being alluded to here, well, there is NO security. It's a chimera, a phantasm. an unobtainable ideal. "Call no man happy (or secure) until he is dead."

Herodotus

Fer,

You mentioned a couple of times that the Spanish find it difficult to use the word for love (amar) but usually use the word for want or desire (querer).  Is that true for every Spanish speaking culture?  As a teacher and a student of Spanish I would love to hear a more in depth explanation.  Because even though I have heard this I don't have enough experience to help me understand.

In my youth (many years ago) when I was living and studying in Spain, I met a young man from Venezuela and he used to say "Me gustas".  Only after he was back in Venezuela and I was back in the USA did I receive a letter where he wrote "te quiero".  Our correspondence ended at that time since I was going to marry so maybe that is why we never got to the "te amo" stage.  Is there usually a progression through these words like I experienced?

Unfortunately now I only have television and the radio to keep my ear tuned to spoken Spanish.  And on the telenovelas I always hear "te amo" but "te quiero" much less.  Which is the stronger phrase?  Is there an age component?

Sara

Fer,

Here is another Spanish question for you.  What is the differnence if I say "Estoy contenta" or "Estoy feliz" in answer to the question "How are you?"

Sara