Â鶹Éç

Available for over a year

Today is International Happiness Day, designated as such by the United Nations in 2012. Now, I’m not going to say that we should all go round with artificial smiles on our faces today, saying to ourselves, ‘I have to remember to be happy. It’s Happiness Day’. The Day goes much deeper than that. It invites us to recognize that human happiness is a universal goal, and to reflect on what promotes or prevents it. Globally, it’s obvious that external factors such as war, famine, poverty and drought are destroying the happiness and wellbeing of many communities. What if those with power to change the fate of others could, on this day, feel the pain of those they are oppressing and act for good? That would be an amazing outcome of the day. The majority of us don’t have this power but we can address some of the other factors that prevent true happiness in our lives and the lives of others. The two religions that feed into my own identity both speak about false paths to happiness. The New Testament in the Christian Bible gives the story of a rich person whose land produces so many crops that he can’t store them. Not thinking of giving any away, he decides to build bigger barns, saying to himself, ‘You have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink and be merry’. But God’s response to this is - ‘You fool, this very night your life will be taken from you. Who will your possessions belong to then?’ The person’s hoarding stands condemned. And Buddhism speaks of the danger of greedily seeking happiness in the latest short-term pleasure in the belief that the effects will last – the next holiday, the next bout of retail therapy, the next bottle of wine or cans of beer. The message of both is that true happiness is not found in what perishes but in developing a mind and heart that is free to love others and oneself. Crucial to this, I’ve come to see, is feeling emotionally secure and safe where we are, and loved for who we are. There are many in the communities I encounter who don’t feel this security, or who don’t feel affirmed. Affirming those we know could be part of Happiness Day - saying ‘I love you’ or ‘I support you’. By doing this, we could all benefit from International Happiness Day.