Happiness is a state of ……

The latest documentary on the question of “What is Happiness?” can now be found on Netflix. As usual, there are interviews with men and women who are out and about, minding their own business, when a microphone is thrust into their face and they’re asked “What makes you happy?” Predictably, money is frequently mentioned, as are “being with friends and family”, “having a good job”, “job security”; a good relationship (partner); and having control over one’s job and life in general.

Then the interview shifts to scientists and their take on the word. Some point out that the brain has certain reward circuits hard wired and that once we activate the circuit we keep on repeating the action so that we keep on getting the pleasure of the reward. Drugs, extreme sports, food, sex and the approval of others can all turn on the reward circuit and make us feel happy for the moment, but they can also become the object of addictions. Each time we activate the circuit it adapts a little the stimulation; the pleasure does not last as long, and the amount of the activity or substance needed to create the positive (happy?) feeling increases.

But, there is another source of happiness which does not come from outside ourselves. Meditation, exercise in moderation, achieving personal goals in any area and pursuing one’s hobby can all result in a release of endorphins (dopamine) which cause us to experience positive feelings. For the last 40 years there has been a concerted effort to understand “flow”. This is the experience of being lost in an activity. That activity can be as simple as gardening – pulling the weeds; or as complex as solving mathematical problems. We become lost in the sense that we are unaware of the passage of time and we pursue the activity not so much for the eventual outcome but for its own sake. We might get all of the weeds, we might not; we might reach the eventual solution to the problem, we might not.

Happiness, it would seem, can be as simple as having or not having particular things; it can be thought of as the feeling generated by specific activity; or as coming from within in the pursuit of our passion – the result of highly focussed activity which results in “flow”.

For me, I can get lost at the keyboard. I can experience “flow” as I create articles and blogs, vaguely knowing in the back of my mind that what I write is going to be scrutinized by others but feeling that the writing itself is the real source of my pleasure – not necessarily how it is received. And a walk in hip-deep snow can produce intense happiness as can following a really difficult pattern to knit socks for my grandchildren.