What is Happiness?

“We don’t set goals to achieve them,
but to grow into the person we want to become.”
-Anders Hansen

The Norway Spruce is a beautiful tree that grows abundantly in Europe and North America. It has the maturity potential to grow and become 40 to 60 feet tall, and 25 to 30 feet wide. The Picea abies, the scientific name, is sun loving, but it likes cold weather. Well drained soil, clay, moist, and sandy are some of the soil preferences that the Norway Spruce needs to thrive.

Thrive is a good word that connotes happiness. Failure to thrive is a state that lacks happiness. Arborists study trees and other perennial woody plants and shrubs in order to cultivate the greeneries’ optimal growth environments. As humans, we also have a need to grow into our optimal selves. Finding a way to thrive and be happy is not easy because we are not born with a blueprint on how to do it. Certainly, one size does not fit all. If we ask one thousand people the question, “What is happiness?”, we are most likely to get one thousand different answers. Yet, there is one common denominator that is vital to happiness, the environment.

Those familiar with the history of my writings, know that health and happiness are not only part of my characteristics, but they are also my favorite topics to teach. From knowing the devastation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) from my father’s heart attack and my mother’s stroke, and watching hospital patients suffer and die unnecessarily, I learned that health and happiness is not something to take for granted. Studies show that health and happiness are strongly related - the frame around our existence. All health education is aimed at improving quality of life.

A body that is in a good working order makes the physical aspects of living easier to handle.
As I get older, being part of the 65+ age group, I have learned something significant. Happiness is about growth, and that need for growth does not stop due to aging. There are more than 700 million adults over age 65 in the world, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. This number is estimated to grow to 1.5 billion in 2050, the year I turn 100 years old. The need for growth never ceases, and at times we must grow where we are. Knowing that we consist of a body, a mind, and a spirit, we must consider all aspect of our human make up.

“The secret of happiness, you see is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”
-Socrates

In the book, The Art of Happiness, by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, the authors write about the significance of using the mind to improve happiness. There is no secret that our perception decides how we experience life. Hence, a thousand different answers to the same question of what happiness is. These words from The Art of Happiness drives this message home.

“In fact, whenever we are feeling happy or unhappy at any given moment often has very little to do with our absolute conditions, but rather it is a function of how we perceive our situation, how satisfied we are with what we have.”

Having our needs met makes life more pleasant. But using our mind to gather our thoughts into forming positive concepts, is up to us. Our daily experiences may not always be abundant with sunshine and rainbows, but appreciating what we have and setting positive future goals promote happiness.

Where we are today, is mostly the result of a succession of previous choices. In the gap between a stimulus and a reaction, lies the opportunity for growth. In that tiny space, before we decide, we have the chance to STOP. Taking a moment to ASK ourselves where the consequence of the choice will take us prevents subconscious automatization. Then we have a chance to pause and LISTEN to the answer that arises before we ACT. When making a choice, we must decide if we are moving into an environment where happiness grows, or if we are moving away from it.

If we set a goal to lose 10 pounds or to write a book, simply because we know that we can improve the health and happiness quota, we must understand how the outcome can make us or break us. More often than not, having the chocolate cake rather than the apple, and sleeping in rather that rising early to write, will not make the boat go faster. Instead, we are held back. Adopting new behaviors that work in our favor is essential to the quality of daily living.

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
~Coelho

Spending some time in silence and evaluating the direction of our thought process can have a profound impact on the happiness state. Bringing awareness to what truly matters is a game changer. Who we are, what to share, what we want and how we can improve, while embracing what we have, is essential to personal development and happiness. It is also a way to prevent regret. We are responsible for spurring our own growth process. Regardless of age, learning to become better at who we are is imperative in day-to-day task motivation. Learning produces neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s innate capacity for change. That alone upgrades the neuro environment.

In his book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce H. Lipton writes about the cell. “Cells are Miniature Humans”, he says. From a young age, he always knew that cells are imbued with intent and purpose. Place cells in a petri dish with a toxin, and they move away from it. Place them in a culture that supports their growth, and they move towards it. Cells analyze different stimuli from their microenvironment and will select appropriate behavioral responses to ensure their survival. Dr. Lipton compares their intrinsic behavior to that of humans, but unfortunately, that is not always the case. Humans often fall short of selecting a positive environment.

When we are exposed to toxins like drugs, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, super processed food, and a sedentary lifestyle, we don’t always move away from it. I speak from personal experience when I buckle under short term, instant gratification and devour the chocolate cake. But I am getting better. I have learned that choice evaluation - STOP, ASK, and LISTEN before ACT, works for me. In a moment of undisturbed silence, I went into the gap and asked my spiritual self for a solution. I asked and I received. Like the Norway Spruce, growing tall in favorable conditions, so can we grow exponentially in a self-designed favorable environment.

The beautiful pyramidal evergreen looks grand and majestic when allowed to grow in its optimal environment. When thriving, the Norway Spruce can live to be 100 years old. We, the citizens of the world, have a great advantage over trees. We can choose where we want to get planted. Once settled, we have the option of building an environment that helps us grow into our purpose driven, happy selves. Chances are, with that intent, we can live happily ever after, way after 100.

🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that everyone has an attribute to share with others. Promoting cardiovascular health and helping adults over age 65 is her contribution. When we don’t let age define us, but rather empower us to grow, we discover health and happiness are byproducts of who we are.

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Annelie is the author of the book, Say Yes to A Better Life, available at Amazon.

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