“Organic Happiness” 

I just returned from a trip to Philadelphia. While I was there, I visited Independence Hall. Independence Hall is where both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed. It’s awesome to be able to walk through history and to see where our rights and freedoms as American citizens were signed.

In the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, it states“ Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The pursuit of happiness has always stuck out at me, even as a young girl. I remember back in elementary or middle school, we had to write essays on what we thought it meant. Now at 28 years old, the pursuit of happiness has an entire different meaning to me.

Organic happiness is something that I have been searching for, for a long time. But, I have stopped searching because as I have learned, happiness comes from within. It is a choice. Happiness does not come from the things you have, how much money you make, how many presents you receive, or what honors you achieved. Sure, those things do bring temporary bliss, but they do not equal complete organic happiness.

My whole life I have always said, “I’ll be happy when I graduate high school” or “I’ll be happy when I graduate college”, or “I’ll be happy when I land that job”, when really happiness was in front of me the whole time. Those things that I thought would make me happy did in the moment. But then when the temporary high wore off, I needed a new fix for the next happy occasion or life goal. I almost forget to enjoy the little moments because I was so focused on the end goal. Organic happiness is not just about the end goal. It’s about everything!

When I was in my teens and early twenties, I had this notion that my happiness directly depended on someone else and their validation of me. I thought that finding a man would fulfill that happiness for me. Let’s just say that didn’t end well. After those failed few relationships, I took some time to recreate myself.  

What I found was that I am in control of my own happiness and fulfillment.  Any time you focus on someone else to make you happy, you go down a dangerous path, which ultimately leads to despair. What I did was I started traveling and exploring new things on my own to truly learn what it means to love myself, which has always been tough for me to learn. Loving yourself is the first step to obtaining organic happiness.

Also, I learned that doing things for other people also created organic happiness for me. I love giving people my time, helping them, giving complements, and just being an open ear to listen to. Making a difference in someone else’s life and contributing to society are some of the best ways to achieve happiness.

To reiterate again, happiness does not come from your parents, from your family, from your significant other, your income, your materialistic possessions, your degree, from your friends, or from any other outside source. Sure, those things add value to your life but they CANNOT be your ultimate source of happiness. 

Happiness is a feeling and an emotion. When I feel happy my whole body feels light, I have a lot of energy, and I have a huge AUTHENTIC smile on my face. The reason I bolded the word authentic is because we all know how to fake a smile and we all know how to fake happiness. But when you feel true happiness, you can feel that emotion with every fiber in your body. Also, everyone around us can feel that authentic happiness that we are portraying. 

In my pursuit for organic happiness, I will no longer depend on anyone or anything for my happiness. I am in control of my life and my happiness. The amazing people that I surround myself with are the ones who add so much value to my life but I will not depend on them to make me happy. It is not a burden that I will ever dump on anyone anymore. I will never give anyone that much power to control my happiness. I have done that in the past and trust me you lose yourself real quick when you do that. And, you end up with disappointments and unrealistic expectations. The people that you give the power to make you happy also have the power to make you unhappy and that is something you must remember.

While writing this blog, it just so happened that one of my friends posted this quote below on her Instagram. I thought it was perfectly written and complemented what I am writing about. 

Always remember that organic happiness is a choice. It is the way in which we respond to not only our victories, but most importantly to our trials and tribulations. It’s about enjoying every moment, which includes both the journey and the destination. Life is all about the moments we create, the people we create them with, how we love others, and how we love ourselves. It is also about what we give, how we give, and how we contribute to society. That is the ultimate pursuit of organic happiness.

After everything I have learned thus far, I will no longer search for organic happiness because I will create it in every moment that I am still breathing. Life is too short to be anything but happy.

I give you all the power to create your own organic happiness, whatever that means to you, because you all deserve it!

When you learn that happiness is within you and that it does not come from outside factors, you have finally mastered what it means to pursue “organic happiness.”

Love,

Sara, “S.O.Eats”