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Happiness is Our Natural State – Anthony de Mello
You possess everything you need to be happy
Happiness is not something you find outside of yourself. It’s not something you achieve. Happiness is not a final destination where you arrive once and stay forever. Happiness is our natural state. It is how we feel when we do or experience things that make us come alive.
When we talk about happiness, it is usually with the intention of increasing it. We consider ways to improve our lives and increase our happiness. In this pursuit, we believe certain things outside ourselves will make us happier than others.
We look to or for external things to bring us happiness. Even when things are going great in our lives, we think of ways to make them even better. However, happiness cannot be found by seeking something outside ourselves.
True happiness is our natural state. You already possess almost everything to make you happy — you are just focusing on the wrong things.
In simple terms, happiness is an attitude or mental state: a way of looking at things rather than an emotional reaction to external stimuli. If we are unhappy, something is not right in our habits and, most importantly, how we interpret our experiences.
