Joyful Perspective.

I have seen people who associate happiness with their material gain in life and yet I've seen those who despite attaining so many material possessions in life, still feel depressed, unfulfilled and empty.

To that end, I will say happiness is a simple word that means different things to different people.

For me, happiness lies within me and my daily lifestyle, and the sweetest thing about happiness is that it is free.

I grew up in a home where little things mean the most to us: spending quality time together, sharing, caring, and giving alms.

I watch my parents go out of their way every day for people to make them smile. I watch them set something aside for their siblings, relatives, and the needy and never grumble about it; instead, they begin to feel fulfilled and glow from their little acts of kindness to the people around them.

I stumbled on the prompt for this week, and it got me thinking.

1: What does happiness mean to you?

Happiness means putting a smile on someone's face.

Happiness to me means showing gratitude for any act of kindness shown to me and reciprocating as well.

It means creating my little world of unending laughter and never putting my life on hold for the things that are out of my reach.

Happiness to me means truly living my life and not just existing, which involves exploring life, taking calculated risks, and engaging in daily practices that set my soul on fire.

And yet again, this question pops up:

What are the things you must have or engage in to achieve and maintain your happiness?

Fame or riches I have not, but yes, I have love, peace of mind, a beautiful family, genuine friends, and a modest lifestyle that brings me the most happiness.

This is why I take my physical and mental health as a priority a sane mind is a happy mind. I try as much as possible to avoid toxicity of any kind, I try my best to stay out of trouble, and I try my best to remain physically fit by eating healthy and feeding my mind with positive thoughts.

More to that, being financially stable has elevated my happy mood as I do not have to depend on others for my necessities, which in turn brings me absolute peace of mind, knowing I can care for my needs at any time.

There is this level of happiness that comes with knowing that you are getting better with your craft or skill in life or from doing the kind of job you love even when you are earning less. No other feeling comes close.

My fashion design has been another source of endless happiness for me. Knowing I feel fulfilled each time I engage in it proves that doing something for the love of it is far more profitable than doing something out of boredom or just for material gain because when work becomes a source of pleasure, it's no longer tedious but a beautiful way to elevate stress and a little way of finding your joy.

My daily gratitude journal has been a good way to stay happy, as I write down what I am grateful for every single day.

Many times, we lose sight of the smallest things in life that bring us the most happiness: the laughter of a child around us, beautiful flowers, the petrichor (oh, heavenly), little drops of rain, sunlight, the breath of life, and the simple things money cannot buy.

Leading a simple life and doing little things for people who cannot pay me back has been my source of unending joy, because there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving, and what more is, you know you do not compete with anyone, just with who you were yesterday, to strive to become better than you were yesterday.

Happiness to me is being truly free from any form of grudge, knowing that the universe is in control and will take care of those who've wronged you; it means staying positive that life will take its course; it means truly living in the present, forgiving one's past mistakes, and taking responsibility for your every action. More to that, true happiness is having power over your emotions and not giving people so much power over you to ruin your day or affect your mood through their actions.

And lastly, what other happiness comes from staying out of debt? Living a content life, genuinely loving people around you, and knowing that nobody can bring you happiness unless you create it for yourself, Do you know that you can still be famous and unhappy? you can still achieve everything you want in life and still be unhappy unless you truly embrace life, the little things that come with it, and set reasonable expectations and remind yourself that happiness lies in you and your mindset if you are willing to create it no matter your condition.