A hugely relevant part of my reading these days is about happiness and optimal experience. I have a desire to learn why some people are happy and why others suffer. What are the conditions, cures, and genetics behind it all? I have, at times, felt that the world dealt unfair hands to those around me and I've never been able to put my finger on why I am lucky enough to smile each day and yet my dearest acquaintances feel so small. What I can wrap my mind around so far is this: the world and our outside conditions are not set up to create happiness for humans. We are consistently dissatisfied and the level of this dissatisfaction goes far beyond the realms of basic needs now that our world is so modern. We cannot simply wait for happiness to happen nor can we constantly search for it. However, there is a level of preparing that needs to be done. As life brings us whatever it shall, we must do our best to control our inner experiences for our interpretation is all we have. As this is achieved, we will obtain the ability to determine the quality of our lives.
The truth is that I don't have all of the answers and likely never will. But I am again reinforcing that perception is the key ingredient to success in happiness. How different would our world be if everybody we knew was genuinely happy: satisfied with life, not regretful of the past, and confident about their future? ... A girl can dream.
"Though the evidence suggests that most people are caught up on this frustrating treadmill of rising expectations, many individuals have found ways to escape it. These are people who, regardless of their material conditions, have been able to improve the quality of their lives, who are satisfied, and who have a way of making those around them also a bit more happy." -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi