Who is the happiest person you know?

[monarch64]

I suppose happiness is a relative term, and should be defined first for this thread’s purpose.

Happiness - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[kenny]

Nobody can judge the true internal happiness of another.

The truth is personal and private, and appearances are often deceiving.
I know many folks who come across as happy, but I suspect (suspect, not know) the truth is quite the opposite.

Many are trained through childhood by parents and religions to come across this way or that way.
Many are trapped into appearing that way forever, and never break free to become their true self.

 

[qubitasaurus]

I think my daughter, its amazing how happy children are over things we completely disregaurd. Something I have litterally zero time for is amazing to her.

 

[Missy]

I cannot say because as Kenny wisely wrote how do we really know what is going on in someone's mind?

For me however, this quote rings true.
The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.
This is how I feel.

Personally we are and have been dealing with many health challenges. Yet we are happy. We are content.

How? Because we are grateful for all the good in our lives and the fact we have each other to lean on for support and strength and encouragement. No matter all the external noise we are dealing with at any given moment we truly are content.

That doesn't mean I don't have challenging moments where I feel sad and scared and cry but the good outweighs the bad and I am so appreciative of all we do have in our lives. So as always we take it one day at a time and always move forward.

Grateful for each day we are here and breathing and able to enjoy being together.

 

[Made in London]

I'm probably the happiest person I know.The closest people to me always seem to see the glass half empty & always talk about all the bad things in life, whereas I prefer to live in my little bubble of happiness, surrounding myself with all that I love Life is too short to allow misery to come calling

 

[stracci2000]

I know a man who is perpetually happy.
Every time I see him (about once a week), he is like a ray of sunshine.
He has been through a great deal of health challenges and also became a widower two years ago. But somehow he stays positive.
He is very religious, and I guess that's what is motivating him.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

My six year old son.

 

[Snowdrop13]

It’s more about contentment, I think? The concept of being high on happiness all the time doesn’t really make sense to me.

My husband is the most content person I know. He accepts life for what it is, makes the best of what he has and is grateful for small things.

 

[MamaBee]

My eleven month old grandson, Noah. He never frowns..He’s always laughing and smiling at everyone.

 

[ForteKitty]

The happiest adults I know happen to be the most clueless people in my friendship circles. Not a care in the world, never read the news, no clue what is going on anywhere. Their neighbor's house could be on fire and they wouldn't know. And as chance would have it, they also happen to be the luckiest people as well... nothing bad ever happens to them. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[Mekp]

I think my (almost) 16 year old daughter is the most resilient person I know, and resiliency definitely contributes to happiness. She manages to stay on a pretty even keel and embraces optimism and hope in very trying times. I was not nearly as resilient as she is at her age.

 

[Phoenix]

I'm probably the happiest person I know.The closest people to me always seem to see the glass half empty & always talk about all the bad things in life, whereas I prefer to live in my little bubble of happiness, surrounding myself with all that I love Life is too short to allow misery to come calling

Same here. 100%. At least now. There was a dark time in my life but the cause was out of my control. I've dealt with the challenges and have emerged stronger.

 

[Phoenix]

I think my (almost) 16 year old daughter is the most resilient person I know, and resiliency definitely contributes to happiness. She manages to stay on a pretty even keel and embraces optimism and hope in very trying times. I was not nearly as resilient as she is at her age.

Love this! And at such a young age too.

 

[jaysonsmom]

I know a man who is perpetually happy.
Every time I see him (about once a week), he is like a ray of sunshine.
He has been through a great deal of health challenges and also became a widower two years ago. But somehow he stays positive.
He is very religious, and I guess that's what is motivating him.

My Pastor's mom is the same way. She is the happiest person I know. She is always joyful, despite going 2 different types of cancer treatments and getting very grim diagnoses each time. She just perpetuates faith and trust and she is ready for God's divine plan for her, no matter what the outcome is. She often tells us, that the future we worry about often doesn't usually happen the way we expected, and if it happens the way we expected, it is too late to worry.

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

My DH. He is always happy, genuinely full of joy, I admire him and want to be more like him.

I am full of anxiety, especially related to health and COVID isolation. For me, the challenge is my happiness is based on external factors that make me "happy" (quality time with friends and family, getting to experience fun things, achievement) vs. inner happiness. I learned that happiness is actually 50% genetic and circumstantial as well. Everyday I fight my anxiety with gratitude and positivity, but it's not easy and often doesn't work for me.

 

[Jambalaya]

I've noticed that the happiest people I know, as opposed to one person, are the most insular. They have very small, tight circles of immediate family and a few old friends that they've known forever, and they stick with people who are very similar to them politically, socially, etc. (As in, if they have kids, they only socialize with people who also have kids.)

You would think that those who are more outward-looking and more open would be happier. But perhaps sticking with tried-and-true people, who are just like you, creates a positive feedback loop, since you probably get a lot of validation.

 

[pearlsngems]

I'd have to say it's my husband. He is even-tempered and doesn't hold grudges. He's a man of simple tastes and tends to be contented with what we have and how we are. He goes to work with a smile and comes home with a smile, and enjoys gardening and walking in his free time. He could retire now that we both have Medicare and no longer need his employer's health plan-- but he still likes working.

 

[AprilBaby]

My grandfather was the happiest person I ever knew. His parents were immigrants with a butcher shop in Philly. He didn’t want to be a butcher but WW1 his brothers went to war and he had polio and couldn’t go. He stayed behind and inherited the store. WW2 he gave meat away to hungry people. My grandparents were very very frugal. The only thing they wanted was 2 weeks at the Jersey Shore every summer. When he retired he worked as a candy striper at the hospital cheering people up and delivering mail and flowers. When his wife died he moved into an apartment and cooked for the invalid lady downstairs with no family to help her, she was in a wheelchair. Every day he told my grandmother she was Miss America. He died on a summer morning of a heart attack at 5 am out on the pavement delivering flowers to a neighbor. He laid on the pavement dead for 2 hrs before someone saw him. They said he had a smile on his face.
Before he died he lost his wife , my mother who was only 33, all his brothers and sisters. But he was always happy. I miss him very much. I wish I were more like him.

 

[asscherisme]

Nobody can judge the true internal happiness of another.

The truth is personal and private, and appearances are often deceiving.
I know many folks who come across as happy, but I suspect (suspect, not know) the truth is quite the opposite.

Many are trained through childhood by parents and religions to come across this way or that way.
Many are trapped into appearing that way forever, and never break free to become their true self.

I agree 100%.

 

[Dancing Fire]

The person with the BIGGEST diamond!...

 

[canuk-gal]

The person with the BIGGEST diamond!...

ba dam boom!

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

That is such a good question and it make me reflect on my friends and family. Kind of a mixed bag. I know who appears the happiest but maybe I know too many details about their life to be convinced they are. Or maybe I project how I would feel about their life choices and relationships onto them. I will be thinking about this some more.

 

[nala]

I can only speak for myself and I can assure you that I am happy bc my loved ones are all healthy and well. Happiness is fragile though. And I’m always aware that I am only one event, one phone call, one diagnosis, you get the idea—from losing this happiness— which I characterize as “my heart is full.”

 

[maita13]

My son. Resilient, forgiving and true to himself til the very end. Always grateful, even for a toothbrush. That’s how happy he was. That’s how lucky I am.

 

[Lookinagain]

The happiest adults I know happen to be the most clueless people in my friendship circles. Not a care in the world, never read the news, no clue what is going on anywhere. Their neighbor's house could be on fire and they wouldn't know. And as chance would have it, they also happen to be the luckiest people as well... nothing bad ever happens to them. Ignorance is bliss.

Yes same for me. And it’s my older sister. Totally clueless and totally happy.

 

[Missy]

The happiest adults I know happen to be the most clueless people in my friendship circles. Not a care in the world, never read the news, no clue what is going on anywhere. Their neighbor's house could be on fire and they wouldn't know. And as chance would have it, they also happen to be the luckiest people as well... nothing bad ever happens to them. Ignorance is bliss.

OMG yes. You know the saying "g-d looks out for fools and drunks" well, that is the truth.

And I always say I wish I was clueless and didn't think so much because life would be so much easier.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Two characteristics of people generally considered happy are stillness of mind and living in the moment. Maybe this is why children in particular tend to be happy, they don’t have their minds all clogged up like most adults do.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Not a human person but our late kitty Tibby
he owned the world and knew it
he was a very contented boy who was loved and loved back
Very little worried him he just loved life

 

[Piper70]

The happiest adults I know happen to be the most clueless people in my friendship circles. Not a care in the world, never read the news, no clue what is going on anywhere. Their neighbor's house could be on fire and they wouldn't know. And as chance would have it, they also happen to be the luckiest people as well... nothing bad ever happens to them. Ignorance is bliss.

Even before I read your post, I thought of my best friend and her husband. Truly good people and very happy but not intellectually curious. And as for the good luck part, that’s where it gets funny. My 40th bday party was a trip to a Caribbean island and all the invitees had to do was fly there and we took care of the rest. They mistakenly booked to the wrong island but ended up getting there sooner than the guests that booked correctly. Too long of a story to explain further but they just seem to have things work out for them.