Where and when does happiness reside? Is it in a distant city or state, across town, perhaps in a different country? Will it come later today, tomorrow, next year?
How and when can one be happy? If now is not the time, then when is it? If this isn’t the place, then where is it? If it isn’t with us right now, right here, will it come with the next big accomplishment in our lives?
As I sit here, contemplating what happiness is, it occurs to me that it has to be now. It can’t depend on something happening in the future, nor can it be traced back to something in the past. We can experience thoughts about hopes and memories in the future and the past, but we can’t experience happiness in the future and the past. Now is the only time we can truly experience happiness.
So, I sit here at my computer and experience happiness. I think about people in my life and experience happiness that they are in it. I think about my good fortune at sitting here in my house, warm and comfortable. I think about having enough food to keep me full. Happiness is right now. Right here.
