Happiness

Happiness

Happiness can be simply defined as the state of well being in a person. The degree of happiness varies from one person to another. Everybody wants to be happy in life. This means that everybody wants to have a good life therefore a happy life but it is not always that when you have a good life you are happy. Happiness is a very broad category because every body has his or her own kind of happiness (Pope, 2009). It is due to this reason that interviews from different people have to be taken in order to have conclusive information about happiness.

The first person to be interviewed is my father who is fifty-three years old. He is an accountant by profession and he has his own accounting firm and many other businesses. My father and I are very close since I am his only child. I consider him to have good definition of happiness since he has provided that happiness for me. Therefore, I have set up some questions for him, which will help to know clearly, what happiness is.

Question 1: what is the definition of happiness?

            He answered the question by saying that happiness is that emotion feeling that a person is filled with after a certain event. He continued and said that for somebody to be happy, their must be a factor which is influencing that emotional feeling. Moreover, there are different kinds of happiness. One of the definition happiness is that happiness, which one experiences when he or she is watching a comedy. The other form of happiness is when things go according to your plan. An example is when you get a new client in your business. He continued and said that the topic is very broad but one thing, which is common, is that happiness affects the emotions of a person.

Question 2: Where did happiness originate from and how did it develop?

He does not know where happiness originated but he says that when God was creating man, He created all the things that would make man’s life comfortable and happy. Therefore, happiness could have originated from their. On the other hand, he said that happiness developed as man developed and started to understand the new things that makes one happy.

Question 3: has the definition of happiness changed over time?

His answer was no. He continued and said that everybody despite the time, even in the past, wants to feel that emotion of happiness. What changed are the priorities that people term to be happy. In the olden days, farming meant a good life and a good life meant happiness. On the other hand, in the current days technology has changed things making people to be happy if they have the latest kind of luxuries. However, he said that it should be noted that good life is not happiness because one should have a good life and be sad.

Question 4: What has influenced your definition of happiness?

He started by saying that in lifetime he had to struggle so that he could be where he is. He had a bad life because his parents were poor unlike most of his friends. He wanted to make sure that his family was happy by providing them with a good life. After accomplishing his goals of success in life, that is when he started having happiness in life. He is happy to have me and see me happy. He concludes by saying that is why I have defined happiness like that.

Question 5: Do you expect the definition of happiness to change

            He said that the definition of happiness would never change despite every thing we do since it is an emotion but our priorities will always change depending on the different generations.

 

The second person is to be interviewed was the nearby priest. He is much younger because he is thirty-five years old. He spends most of his time preaching and helping the needy in whatever way he can. My relationship with him is that he preaches to me every Sunday I go to church.

Question 1: What is the definition of happiness?

He answered by saying that happiness is perceived to be that feeling of joy in ones heart. He continued and said that happiness is a thing of the heart. However, he said that joy, pleasure and happiness are not the same. He continued and said that it is not necessary for a person to be happy because of the wealth he or she has because even poor people are happy.

Question 2: Where did happiness originate from and how did it develop?

He says that happiness originated from God and only God provides us with happiness. Additionally, he says that happiness develops from the heart since it is an emotional feeling. Moreover, it develops from one person to another.

Question 3: Has the definition of happiness over time?

He does not agree to that the definition of time has changed with time because the feeling of the heart cannot change only material things can change. He concludes and says that the feeling of happiness was the same even thirty years ago.

Question 4: What has influenced your definition of happiness?

What influenced his definition of happiness was the time he decided to follow Jesus Christ as the son of God. Additionally, in his career, he filled with happiness every time he helps a needy person and responds with happiness. This was the reason that influenced his definition of happiness.

Question 5: Do you expect the definition of happiness to change

            He said that the definition of happiness would never change despite it being very wide. The emotions can never change therefore they will continue to be the same even in future.

The interviews were very honest about what they were discussing about since both of them were very happy to help me with the definition of happiness. The only things that they had similarities in were that happiness is an emotional feeling of the heart. Another thing that they agreed on was that one could have a good life but lack happiness. Additionally, they agreed that happiness would never change with time since it is a thing of the heart. The concept of happiness was not hard to define but the concept is believed to be very bold.

 

References

Pope, A., (2009). The Art of Being Human: The Humanities As A Technique For Living, Custom Edition. Aurora, CO: Pearson Custom Publishing.