How do you define happiness?

'Happiness is a state of activity'...Aristotle

What is happiness to you?

According to Dictionary.com

hap•pi•ness –noun
1. the quality or state of being happy.
2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Synonyms
pleasure, joy, exhilaration, bliss, contentedness, delight, enjoyment, satisfaction.

Antonyms
1. misery.

We’re all created differently and therefore have varying personal thresholds for defining happiness, usually dependent on one’s personal circumstances at the time. The things that make me happy here in America today, might not be the same things that make someone in, say, Australia, Russia, Nigeria or China happy.

I personally believe that the state of HAPPINESS is always evolving in individuals. Tabloids and drug companies constantly try to create this fantasy, where happiness is a ‘must-have’. If you do not have 'happiness', then there’s something wrong with you and you need 'fix' it, usually resulting in long hours in therapy and/or the prolonged use of medication. But I ask, is it really possible to be constantly, consistently happy all the time? I do not think so.

At this point in my life today, here are some of the things that define happiness for me
- Being able to spend a lazy afternoon with my family, doing absolutely nothing
- A warm house, with warm food on a cold, rainy and blustery day
- Spending time with friends/family and having a really good laugh
- Getting on the scales and discovering that I’ve lost a few pounds
- Getting recognition for the work I do
- Finding a $20 note I had forgotten about, tucked away in my purse

When I was younger, I had a completely different list, and who knows, things might be different tomorrow. But this list here defines where I am today.

So I wonder...what makes you happy....today.....?