Happiness is Appreciation

            Happiness is not an object of consciousness. There have been many things I have bought that, at the time, I thought would bring me happiness, but didn't.  Why was that? It was because I didn't appreciate them at the time. That's because happiness is not a "thing," it is not an object of consciousness, it is a process. It is the process of appreciation. Think right now of small things that you appreciate in life. Does that make you smile? Objects of consciousness, can only elicit this reaction [because they elicit appreciation], but they don't fundamentally "cause" happiness. When we laugh it is because we see an absurd connection between two previously incongruous objects, and we appreciate our own understanding. Numerous scientific research has also demonstrated that gratitude increases happiness as well as increasing the personal happiness of others (Emmons and McCullough, 2003), but do you really need the effects of a scientific study to appreciate this? 

Don't try to "find" happiness. Rather, seek to appreciate more, and you will find that happiness will find you.

[Most people can't ‘find' happiness because misery keeps them from appreciating. See section on misery.]            

:)