I am all for happiness! We need lots more of it. Yet I don't see it as the right word for the feeling that comes into my mind when people talk about happiness - especially as we come to the International Day of Happiness.
To me the better word is contentment. Not the sort of contentment that says I have had a good meal and a glass of wine and ready for a nap. I mean contentment with where I am at in my life, who I am and with adequate chances to express the real me in my way, at my pace and with/to like-minded people.
Contentment describes the journey I am on, not some goal ("I will be happy when...") I am hoping to achieve at some time in the future. The circumstances of my contentment can - and do - constantly change but the feeling it brings is something I can constantly adjust according to the changed circumstances. Even in unhappy circumstances that require me to adjust my thinking. ("They can control what they are doing to me but they cannot control how I respond"- Victor Frankl).
Contented workers are content with where they work, what they do and the recognition they gain from all around them, clients, bosses and colleagues. It's the sort of place where we would all like to be employed. We feel all those good feelings like acceptance, commitment, productive and stable.
When the peoples of the world are content with who they are, where they are at in life and the way society is progressing, that is when, I suggest, The International Day of Happiness shall have achieved its aim.
What do you think? (there's plenty of comment space below)
