Reflective Essay Sample on Happiness
Lurking in the cavernous chasm of every heart is a question that has been quarreled over since the beginning of time. What is happiness? It would be a true accomplishment if the entire world could understand real happiness, but the world can’t seem to find its way in the quest for happiness. Happiness, simply put, is all in the way one can view the world, for happiness is but a mindset. What that mindset is, however, makes all the difference. It is nearly impossible for someone to be truly happy if he is unfulfilled. To gain fulfillment, he must be grateful first. Unfortunately, as this disconsolate world knows, it is tough to be grateful at times. Gratitude can be demanding when what is transpiring around a person is not ideal or aligned with his plans. Happiness is the mindset of being fulfilled and grateful for what one has.
The expression, “It’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you have,” rings true to me in a deep way. In a world where people seek what they don’t have, especially tangible items, the feeling of happiness only lasts a little while. Mathilde from Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace” can relate to just about everyone on this planet in that respect. This world desires more and more material delectations, yet people never achieve what their souls wanted in the first place, which is real happiness. One should be grateful for what he has been given to experience happiness. When one appreciates what he has, he feels full, and the need to have more fades. Happiness is a locked door, but being fulfilled is the keyring, and gratitude, the key. People are relentlessly seeking happiness, for it is a locked door, but are searching for the wrong key. The world may find the keyring of being fulfilled, for they are in the realm of the answer but choose a false key like fame, glory, opulence, or tangible items that they think will fulfill them. Those are the keys to other doors that open happiness for a split second, the door slamming immediately into the face of a lost soul. Gratitude for what I already have is the only key that will unlock true happiness.
Because gratitude is a foolproof way to combat self-pity, the killer of joy, gratitude brings happiness. Self-pity is the opposite of happiness, for it digs a gaping hole in my soul and causes me to sulk for myself, while gratitude brings me to feel fulfilled. Whining over myself has prevented me from choosing the right key on the keyring of fulfillment countless times in the past. When did ungratefulness ever help anyone? In another aspect, I find myself reaching for acceptance from others or approval from this twisted world, thinking that certainly, it will lead to wholeness. Fulfillment is found in loving myself and appreciating myself without needing others to confirm I have value. Happiness, therefore, is not just being grateful for what I have but embracing and being grateful for who I am. Fulfillment and gratitude may seem dissimilar words, but they work together to compose the true essence of happiness.
Two years ago, I underwent an invasive open-heart surgery. Excruciating pain enveloped the dark days that followed immediately after the operation. I could no longer walk, sleep, eat, drink, or breathe the same, all of which I had taken for granted before my surgery, and the hospital machines rang in my ears as reminders of my suffering. A few dreadful days later, I was finally healing. Everyday activities were still a hurdle for me, yet I was happy. What about those moments were so different that I was truly happy? How could I be happy when I was experiencing so much turmoil? The answer lies in gratitude. I soon remembered how grateful I was to have what I had. My surgery humbled me to the point where simple blessings, such as breathing, became miracles, and I was thankful. Because I was thankful and had chosen the right key, I was automatically fulfilled, and the door leading to happiness swung open in my face. As I look back on this edifying experience, I remember what truly matters. Although I could not do everything that I used to do before my surgery during recovery, I was happy since I was thankful for the recovery progress I had made and took everything one day at a time. The world pushes the opposite logic in my face, however, making it hard to remember how to find happiness once again. Sometimes, I must recognize what I have, be thankful, and let myself feel fulfilled. If I can be grateful during hard times like my surgery, then I can surely be grateful every day. After all, it’s my choice whether I will open the door of happiness or not, and gratitude and fulfillment are the deciding factors. Today, I struggle with being myself and not awaiting the approval of others. Using the gratitude I learned from my surgery helps me to be thankful for who I am, which fulfills me, and again I may open the door of happiness.
In a world where the door to true happiness is seldom unlocked and where momentary spurts of happiness are dominant, it is clear why our world keeps seeking more. Will the world ever find the gratitude key? Because, if not, the world is bound to keep plummeting toward pity and endless want for more. I hope to help the world embrace a mindset of gratitude, and through this, maybe the world can be a happier place for everyone.
