If someone asked you: are you happy? What would your answer be?
For the purposes of this article, I’m defining happiness as an inner state of contentment and satisfaction, not the euphoric state of pleasure that comes and goes. Unhappiness in this context is about functional dissatisfaction and not debilitating emotional distress.
“The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment.” ~Doug Larson
As much as I’d like to feel fully contented with my life as it is, it seems there is always an underlying feeling of unease (some sort of dissatisfaction). It‘s a vague feeling that runs in the background. It’s not as pronounced as anxiety, sadness, or other negative emotions.
I can’t tell you exactly why I feel this way. And if my understanding of others around me is correct, I don’t think I’m the only one with those feelings.
We learn to tolerate and live with the unease. We don’t stop to analyze it or give it much attention. It’s just there.
“The happiness of most people is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things.” ~Ernest Dimnet
On the surface the feelings of unease and dissatisfaction are not that harmful. If we can learn to pay attention to (and appreciate) the good in our lives, then a bit of negativity in the background won’t be that bad. Until …
