Happiness is what you want it to be

It really is.. If what u want is what you already have, u have nothing left to want, i.e, feel unhappy about not having, and therefore you are happy..

If u want something that you do not have, then your happiness is dependent on getting that thing..

So, the choice of what you want lies in your hands..

the point here is, the happiness you discover (note, its discover and not happiness you gain), is because u lose desire.. it sounds very sage-like, but unfortunately, its a fact..

I go back to the mind concept here.. The mind is a really tricky creature.. it has a wonderful defense mechanism wherein it keeps making you want things you do not have.. Again, it does not make you covet, but makes you want.. The "covet" part is transient..As Dr.Hannibal Lecter says, "You covet only what you see".. Therefore coveting is easily satisfied either by crude acts such as theft, or simply by not seeing the item we covet..

But u need not see to start wanting something.. the entity that you desire can be a completely fictitious one (such as the 'ideal' life partner) or something tangible and real - like stuff u read about in a magazine (a Rolls Royce Phantom for example).. the point is, it is very hard to satisfy your wants.. that is how the mind prevents you from being happy.. Now the most obvious question is, why does the mind not like you being happy?

The answer is quite logical.. When a person is happy, their thoughts are few or even non-existent.. but when a person is unhappy/sad/depressed/not satisfied, they just cant stop thinking.. Thought is one of the primary functions of the mind.. Therefore, when a person is happy, they stop thinking and the person's dependence on the mind reduces.. this in turn, weakens the mind..

Zen, Buddhism, Hinduism all speak of the thoughtlessness as an important step toward Nirvana/Enlightenment or watever... the point is, going to a stage of mindlessness.. its a stage where the individuality of the mind gives way to the realisation of union of the self with the whole..

Basically, it means the mind becomes threatened when you stop thinking.. therefore it kicks in a huge circuitous track where it makes you want things, which in turn makes you less happy.. when you do eventually manage to get what you wanted, the mind usually shifts its base towards something else (after allowing you a brief period of happiness)..

Therefore, it finally boils down to a choice we have to make.. Happiness is what you want it to be..