In one way or another, most sources out there agree that happiness is a state of being, a feeling of continuous peace and confidence that comes from awareness of your true identity – not to be confused with just a fleeting, joyful moment in time that passes by.
In a nutshell, happiness is knowing yourself and sticking to it.
Meditation, yoga, religions all provide their angle on how to either achieve that self awareness or how to not lose perspective of one’s identity, of who we are.
Yet, anxiety and depression are still rampant. And most of us feel lost.
What is the missing piece of this puzzle? I argue that it is simplicity. What we need in order to never forget what happiness is and, more importantly, to stick to the idea of not letting go of pursuing it, is a truly comprehensive, easy-to-understand definition of who we are.
Body, mind and yes (dare I say it?), soul broken down to simple, tangible terms we can all grasp.
Science has given us a clear picture of our brains and bodies. Psychology, philosophy and religion have all contributed to our understanding of our minds. Our souls, however, are still a mysterious and elusive concept.
Given that lack of a tangible definition of soul, this article will present to you my personal idea of what a clear definition of the soul might look like. I attempt this feat because, in my opinion, once we nail-down what a soul is we will all be one step closer to reaching that presently seemingly unreachable dream: long-lasting happiness.
But first, let’s step back and review some basics.
Why Are We Not All Happy?
When we come into this world we instinctively know who we are. We laugh, we play, we cry only when our most basic needs – namely, eating and sleeping – are not being met. When we are babies life is simple and we are happy.
The problem is that in this chaotic and information-filled world of ours it is easy to forget who you are as we grow and are exposed to more of the complications of the world and societies that surround us.
Some of us also have to deal with real, physical chemical imbalances in our brains or bodies that even in this day in age still easily go by un-diagnosed, although many treatments are available in these cases for those who seek medical help.
Can One Remember What Happiness Is?
Yes. Happiness is something that can be learned and practiced.
Lucky for you, tons of literature exists on the topic on happiness. So take your pick. Just don’t get discouraged.At first glance, the vast amounts of information out there may seem to be contradictory or overwhelming. Or it may seem that too many different options complicate matters tremendously.
But, don’t panic.
The trick is to organize the mess of information. Put all that you learn into as few “buckets” as possible. This will help control the noise.
Beware of One-Sided Approaches
There are a few different views on this, so to be clear, I am of the bank that believes a human is made up of three parts: A body, a mind and a soul. It follows that a wholesome definition of who I am will include some knowledge of what the specific parts of the body are, what the specific parts of the mind are, and what the specific parts of a soul are. Else, I’d be shooting arrows in the dark.
Therefore, in order to know who I am I need to know what those parts are. Not that I have to be a doctor nor a certified psychologist, just, I need to know that there are parts there that I should be taking care of and I need to know that there are people knowledgeable on those subjects should I need to.
Knowledge means certainty. Certainty means peace.
