Can we ever be truly happy?

It's not just an American phenomenon. I think it's in the human nature to want more and to want to be happier. Happiness is an emotion and as such cannot last long. If you reached milestone, you are happy, but that won't last forever. Once you are used to where you are and what you have achieved, you get bored and the happiness wears off. And you look for something new to make you happy. Of course in our fast paced society, happiness fades faster than in cultures where people stop more often to enjoy things. Happiness from within is actually being contend with what you have done and achieved. The more contend you are the higher is your level of overall happiness. However, I think we'll never be truly satisfied and happy for a long time. You might be happy, but could be happier kind of deal. Okay, I'm not good at that philosphical stuff, so I call it a day;)

I think it comes from within. You have to love yourself and be comfortable with who you are and where you stand. If you have any doubts about who you are or what you want or what you believe in, you won't be happy. Your environment won't change that.

perhaps it is and the stores at the mall or shopping dont make it much easier either but i have decided that i WILL be content with the stuff that i have (its a matter of will) and that true happiness comes from being happy with the stuff that you have already! it does depend on your environment though to a certain extent, ie if you are sick or whatever, but for me, its a matter of will.

Hi We, the human being, are under the influence of three modes of nature - Virtue, Passion and Ignorance. Uncontrolled passion leads us to in a position where we don;t know when to stop. We keep on want more and more. The more we get, the more we want. This way this passion binds us and make us unhappy because of our never ending desire. You are absolutely right. Happiness comes from within. If one's inner self is happy, the person is also happy. Now the big question is how make inner self happy and can we really ignore running after 'ifs' and 'whens'? We can't stop running because we need wealth to survive. But we must remind our selves that desire for wealth don't turn to be uncontrolled passion. we must know where to stop. Then only we'll find time to look deep into our hearts and feel happiness. Happy mylotting.

One can be truly happy when he/she is satisfied with whatever he/she has. It doesnt matter how big money you have or how successful you are in your career or in life, but you are not satisfied with what you have, still you wont be happy at all.

I find myself saying that all the time, and you just opened my eyes to it. i agree that happiness comes within, but I also find that some happiness comes from getting what you really want. I mean if you have been working on something for so long, and finally met that goal, this wonderful feeling comes over you like nothing you have ever felt before....Even if it's just for a moment. I do feel,, however, that we will always want more in life, and that we will always try to give our children more as well....so the cycle will repeat in future generations.

The Western world is very much a "I want more/bigger/better/faster and I wont be happy until I have it" type world...Sad but true..Do I find myself doing that..sure, after all I live in the Western world LOL BUT its always short lived becuase I've been without on all levels and though it sucked and was hard I realized during that time and thanks to other hardships I've been through that the material ISN'T what gives us happiness..I realized that "keeping up with the Joneses" ISNT what makes us or our lives...For me its the little things, the precious moments and what not...So as much as being a western gal has caused me to sometimes for fleeting moments have that "I won't be happy until..." mindset, fact is I AM happy...becuawse i'm alive, functioning, have loving wonderful ppl in my life and all those precious little moments. make sense?

I think you are completely right, not many of us are ever truly happy even when we get the things we want. There is always another thing added to that list that we then want, I am guilty of this most of all. I guess I always think that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence but it is not. I do not know where happiness comes from, perhaps it is only something that we ourselves can make.

Gouranga! Just try to chant or sing or listen to the Hare Krishna Mahá Mantra and you'll be happy forever. God makes us happy. Nothing else. You can feel Him in your heart if you chant His Holy Names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ráma Hare Ráma Ráma Ráma Hare Hare Gouranga! (means be happy!) Ákos, from Hungary

Gouranga! Gouranga means be Happy! I do think that happiness doesn't come from this material world we are surrounded with. The real and eternal happiness derives from God. You can feel it in your heart. God is with us in our heart, but we don't keep contact with him. He is just looking at our foolish activities what we do for beeing happy. But we don't ask Him how to be happy. I am a Krishna conscious devotee. Krishna is the Holy Name of God. The vedic scripts suggest us to chant and listen to the Holy Names of God and we'll be happy and satisified and we won't need anything else. Happiness is so easy to reach:Just chant or sing the Hare Krishna Mahá Mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ráma Hare Ráma Ráma Ráma Hare Hare.

Happiness is a state of mind that we can cultivate, but sadly our culture encourages us to believe that it can only be achieved by possessing more and more 'things'. Even when our surroundings are bleak, I believe that there can be happiness in a moment.

Hi katsmeow The word happiness derives from the word happenings. So happiness comes what is happening to us. Our surroundings and circumstances. If you rely on surroundings and circumstances in your life to make you feel good, then you will surely be let down. It is true however that some people can be more optimistic than others and this can often help, but people are actually not longing for happiness, but rather joy. And that comes from inside, not our outside circumstances. As a Christian, I have joy in my heart even in the troubled times of my life. Am I always happy? No Way! But there is a hope in my heart that brings me unspeakable joy that no one can take away. I had better stop now before you think this is a sermon. Just my own experience. Thanks for letting me share that!

I have a loving family and a good partner.I am happy but to be truly happy i would have to be stress free.It is so hard robbing peter to pay paul every month.If we had enough just to be able to eat and pay the necessary bills like heat and lights and rent or mortgage,I would consider myself then to be truly happy.

Depends on your takings i.e. how you grab the opportunities in Life whatever comes your way. Its easier said then done but got to enjoy even a cry.

i think human wants are unlimited. so it will not cease any amount. at times we will feel that it is going beyond limit.happiness is something when we can think taht we are happy.

As long as you are looking for something in the future you are missing what you should be experiencing right NOW. The NOW is all we have. Stop and enjoy.

To answer your question. I would say YES. But it will only be possible to be happy if one person will be content on what they have. People who lived with the thought that money can make them happy, then they will never be happy. It is just once and short lived happiness. For me to be truly happy is about making someone happy. It warms my heart when i could make someone smile and happy. I will always cherish those moment. It is something I wanted to do always. Whatever makes my love one happy makes me happy. If i see someone happy, it makes me happy. We only live once, and it will be a wonderful place to live if everyones happy. :) Happy mylotting katsmeow. Big hugs

I believe that happiness is not a one time event, but the way you chose to live you life. Yes, I can have millions of dollars, drive nicer cars, live in exotic places, travel the world. But honestly for what reason? Will I be happier with those things, not necessarily. The better you have it in life, the more complex things become in my opinion. The more you start thinking about what if I did, what if I had done, and for what? How about think more along the lines of this is what I have, and this is what I can do with what I have. I may not have everything my heart truly desires, but I can do the things I need to, while I'm on my way there. I can choose to be happy with what I have, the way my life is, while I know that I'm doing everything possible to have the things I want. And you know if you want it bad enough, you'll have it. It starts with the choice you make at the on set, that determines the outcome. If your choices change, is it because you wanted them too, or did you allow them too? I choose to be happy where I am, on my way to where I'm going. So YES so far as I am concerned, I am TRULY HAPPY ~ by my choice.

Happiness is a choice. The best phrase that can complete "I'll be happy when..." is "I choose to be happy". No material things, money, or any other stuff can make us truly happy if we ourselves do not exert effort to choose to live a happy life.

Well,i was thinking of this question as a teenager.Maybe I should be a philosopher rather than a researcher.:)It's a true story that A told me she envied B,then B told me she envied C,and it's intereting that C had the same feeling to A. Nobody is satisfied with himself.And the present life,present everything seem to be better only in the future.So,we need to be happy until a nowhere tomorrow.I agree that happiness comes from within.We should learn how to be peace with ourselves.Beacuse our environment always change with times.And life is full of ups and downs.While we really understand the meaning of life lies not in going in for everything we want, and the true happiness lies not in getting everything we going,maybe we can be truly happy for every common morning and everything we own now.