I was continuing my reading of the book, “The Art of Happiness: A handbook for living” by The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler and was hit by a passage that mentioned, “the purpose of our existence is to seek happiness”.

For awhile I thought I had read it wrong as I thought it sounded very self-centered and egocentric. But upon reading further it actually started to make sense and for the first time I understood what that meant.

In the book it mentioned about countless research that was done that actually showed that unhappy people tend to be more self-centered and withdrawn.

One interesting experiment was done to demonstrate how happy people tend to exhibit qualities of openness and willingness to reach out and help others. The experiment was done by inducing “happiness” in a test subject by arranging for someone to unexpectedly find money or by having the subject listen to a comedy album thereby “lifting” their spirits. They then posed as strangers to walk by and “accidentally” dropped a load of papers. The investigators were looking to see if the test subjects would stop and help the stranger. They discovered that the subjects who were feeling happy were more likely to go out of their way to help someone in need.

So the Purpose of life is really is Happiness, True happiness and not the kind of instant gratification or temporary pleasure. True inner happiness where, no matter the surrounding circumstance, we can make a conscience decision to be happy and at peace.

Slowly but surely I am learning to take each moment of everyday to be truly grateful and happy, no matter the circumstance. Through the hardships and loss I’ve recently experienced I have found again the buried treasure I had lost. Happiness is a state of mind. A state of mind I have full control over. It just takes practice. It takes being open and honest with myself and those around me. It takes authenticity.