The Grasshopper visited yesterday afternoon and delivered this: “Defining happiness is an impediment to happiness.”

It felt like a revealing statement but I had no logic to go with it, until now.

Happiness is a feeling accompanied by a quiet frame of mind.

Defining happiness is a drawn out, noisy state of affairs.

Defining happiness goes something like this: “I’ll be happy when . . .”

The “. . .” represents the noise in your mind.

When you keep the definition carrot in the forefront of your mind, you define happiness as a future event that remains elusive. That noise distracts you from being happy now.

The question most of us rarely ask is: “How can I be happy now?”

If there is an opportunity to feel happiness, that question will short circuit all the noise about its future arrival, and focus you on your ability to feel that feeling now.

Happiness isn’t a planned event. Planning on being happy is creating noise that keeps its arrival at arm’s length.

There is no harm in thinking about the things that make you happy. That bit of reverie actually produces wonderful feelings in your body. It’s when you concoct a precise course for its arrival that you crank up the noise machine that keeps you unhappy.

When you ask, “How can I be happy now?” you are presented with current options versus potential pleasure.

Statements like, “When I get married, then I’ll be happy” or “When we have money, then we’ll be happy” keep the focus on your current unhappiness.

Unhappiness is noisy and happiness isn’t.

The quickest way to find the serenity of happiness is to find out how you can be happy now. It may not be the ultimate happiness that’s in your grand plan, but it conditions you to feel happiness in the moment. This practice of feeling happy now gets you into the habit of doing so, and it builds happiness without a defined diagram.

Planning for future happiness is a guaranteed way to miss the happiness that’s present now.

When you catch yourself caught up in crafting plans for future happiness, bring yourself back to the moment and ask, “How Can I be happy now?”

All the best,

John

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