-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Where does true happiness, or joy, come from?
- Thread starter Hope
- Start date
I think that before we can experience true happiness we must be psychologically healthy. The Surgeon-General released a report a few years ago stating that about 20% of Americans (1 in 5) were emotionally or mentally ill, and that half of Americans would experience an episode of emotional or mental illness during their lifetime. But despite those odds, most people simply do not go to a psychiatrist for a check-up on a regular basis. That's unfortunate because when you become emotionally or mentally ill you don't always know that you are, yet a trained professional can detect that illness and do something to cure or manage it. Anyway, emotional and mental health seems to be a prerequisite for genuine happiness.
thomasedison
Member
Ummm...From taking pride in all the good work you have done and feeling the excitement and joy that you can do more, knowing that you will be rewarded for it? After all, there is no joy for a slave.
Let's see,
I have never been happier than when I have God in my life.
In my expirience, true happiness has come from God, the knowledge that I am(for the most part) doing His work, knowing that Jesus loved me enough to come into flesh and get tortured and die for me. Feeling His presence in me.
I have never been happier than when I have God in my life.
In my expirience, true happiness has come from God, the knowledge that I am(for the most part) doing His work, knowing that Jesus loved me enough to come into flesh and get tortured and die for me. Feeling His presence in me.
Feathers in Hair
World's Tallest Hobbit
Truest joy or fulfillment, for me, comes in celebrating the beauty in all things. Seeking wisdom and learning from others are aspects of this, and one of the main ways one discovers beauty, but I find that 'aha!' moment when you see the gentle mystery of what was previously hidden from your eyes the best of all.
premarnava
New Member
Mister Emu said:
retrorich
SUPER NOT-A-MOD
Happiness is a temporary emotional response to good things that happen to us. The frequency of happiness is enhanced if we maintain a positive attitude, concentrating on the positive aspects of life rather than the negative. However, if we concentrate too much on happiness itself--analyzing it and aggressively pursuing it--it tends to elude and frustrate us.
Jaymes
The cake is a lie
True happiness, IMO, can only come after you've felt despair. Once you know how it feels to want to curl up and die and not face another day, you can wake up, realize things don't suck that bad, and face another day and start being happy. Since both of these are emotions, I say happiness comes from within.
Well, that's what this little introvert says, anyway.
I'm sure there are people that get their happiness from without.
Well, that's what this little introvert says, anyway.
I'm sure there are people that get their happiness from without.
Green Gaia
Veteran Member
From yourself. From being at peace with yourself and your place in the world. No one and nothing can make you truly happy except yourself.Hope said:Where does true happiness, or joy, come from? I don't want pat answers--well-thought-out ones, please!
Engyo
Prince of Dorkness!
One thing I think happens with these kinds of questions, is that we are not all necessarily talking about the same thing when we say the word "happiness". Buddhism sometimes defines happiness as an absence of suffering; it isn't actually viewed as an *emotion* so much as a state of being. So maybe some of the strong differences which emerge come from differences in definition.
How to arrive at a common working definition of happiness is another question; one which I don't have a ready answer for. Any thoughts?
How to arrive at a common working definition of happiness is another question; one which I don't have a ready answer for. Any thoughts?
cardero
Citizen Mod
Some interesting things GOD has said about Joy
Joy is the only thing easy to access that seems to create itself. People do not have too much say in how much joy can BE created or sensed by them. It seems to have a will and desire of its own. It is the most courageous and contagious element in the Universe.
Joy stands alone. It has no sidekicks, no comedy relief. It is useful in many ways and also makes a great name for your daughter.
Joy is simply, perfection. It can BE a feeling you can capture in the moment (in the now), or it may BE a feeling you can carry around with you for some time. Joy is portable. You can take it everywhere.
Joy is everywhere and is ALL(WAYS) abundant. People cannot truly say they are without joy, for it has touched every Soul, every physical BEing at one time or another. It could BE as simple as hearing a favorite song to BEing as complicated as witnessing the birth of a baby. Like TRUE UNDERSTANDING it can BE shared but never forced or solicited. For joy to exist, it must happen NATURALLY.
Joy is a service due to ALL humans, and if it is your sole pursuit, then follow it. Follow it into your dreams, into the center of your Soul. Follow it to the ends of the world, for it is your BEing that deserves this joy. Don't classify it, don't capitalize on it, don't exploit it, don't force it. Let it happen NATURALLY.
Joy is the only thing easy to access that seems to create itself. People do not have too much say in how much joy can BE created or sensed by them. It seems to have a will and desire of its own. It is the most courageous and contagious element in the Universe.
Joy stands alone. It has no sidekicks, no comedy relief. It is useful in many ways and also makes a great name for your daughter.
Joy is simply, perfection. It can BE a feeling you can capture in the moment (in the now), or it may BE a feeling you can carry around with you for some time. Joy is portable. You can take it everywhere.
Joy is everywhere and is ALL(WAYS) abundant. People cannot truly say they are without joy, for it has touched every Soul, every physical BEing at one time or another. It could BE as simple as hearing a favorite song to BEing as complicated as witnessing the birth of a baby. Like TRUE UNDERSTANDING it can BE shared but never forced or solicited. For joy to exist, it must happen NATURALLY.
Joy is a service due to ALL humans, and if it is your sole pursuit, then follow it. Follow it into your dreams, into the center of your Soul. Follow it to the ends of the world, for it is your BEing that deserves this joy. Don't classify it, don't capitalize on it, don't exploit it, don't force it. Let it happen NATURALLY.
cardero
Citizen Mod
Happiness cannot be defined as easily because many different things make many people happy. Even if you were to find the happiest person alive and asked them what their secret was you could not apply their formula to your life because you will eventually notice that it may not suit your particular needs for happiness.
Scott Peck put it best when he mentioned that "no one can make you sad or happy that decision is up to the individual.
Scott Peck put it best when he mentioned that "no one can make you sad or happy that decision is up to the individual.