A theory goes that if you smile then you will start to feel cheerful. Then there is a theory that states that you can only feel like smile if you feel like smiling.
I have often wondered if being happy is something that most people want. And if they really want it, what prevents them from getting to that state. After all, most of us will engineer life to deliver us the things we want out of it. Be it a career or be it a relationship. So why dont we want to be happy?
Have a read of this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7502443.stm.
To me, happiness is a state of mind and soul. And has dependencies on level of contentment with a mix of thankfulness in life. That to me is a rise above the material and body existence. For I believe we can never be happy because of something or someone. A feeling of joy should not be confused with a state of existence.
Osho once told a story about a man who lost his son to a disease and the day after the death that man went about his business like nothing had happened. On questioning, the man said: “My son was not alive once and I was fine. Now he is no longer alive and I am fine too.” I found the story quite interesting. What changes in us before and after an event is really our emotional attachment – good or bad! And that emotional attachment criples our thinking. So was the happiness of that man dependent on the son….