In our youth, we rarely ask ourselves this question. In fact, it doesn't even cross our minds. Maybe because we don't want to even doubt the existence of happiness, the thing that we have been and will be fighting for all our lives. From the beginning of our education to the end of our job careers, our only goal in life is supposed to be the attainment of happiness. We encounter hurdles, obstacles, and at times impossible challenges which demotivate us. On the opposite side of the spectrum, sure, there are indeed moments of sheer happiness. Such moments which make you want to stop time so you could cherish them forever because deep down you realize that this is just a glimpse of the life you've been struggling for and that that life is still a million miles away. These situations make us ask ourselves questions like Does there really exist true, and eternal happiness? If so, then will I be able to one day find it? Did I waste all my life in the pursuit of some... fantasy?

The Meaning Of Happiness

Before we delve into the core question of this article, it is essential for us to understand what is happiness, it's meaning and its effects on the average person.

The most widely accepted general definition of happiness would be such a state, situation, or something that induces happy feelings and makes you happy. When you think of happiness, you think of yourself having a picnic in lush green fields, driving into the sunset in a convertible, or maybe just relaxing at your home all while being with your significant other. Perhaps you imagine yourself alone but with a lot of wealth. That is the mainstream and a bit cliched definition of happiness. For a work-laden employee, happiness maybe a day off. While for a workaholic, "happiness" maybe spending a bit more time at work. If we look at the melancholic and dark end of the spectrum, happiness for a psychopathic serial-killer maybe chopping up some more victims! Yeah, let's stop there.

The point is, happiness has no fixed meaning or definition. It varies from person to person, and it may not be the same for different individuals. It's just something that makes that individual happy, it makes him feel alive and assures him that despite the overwhelming bleakness in life, there are indeed times in which you are happy. These moments, however, short they may be, gives him something to look forward to. It motivates him to wake up every morning knowing that, *It's a new day for me. And I feel good." When that individual becomes aware of this, the sadness resting inside him slowly disintegrates and fades away.

Sadness is the opposite of happiness.

It's the complete opposite of happiness. On the contrary to what the television and the movies may have told you in the past, life is tremendously sad. The odds of it are so great that it is almost certain that the sadness you experience throughout your lifetime greatly over-weighs the happiness that you may encounter. At every turn in your life, you encounter disappointments, greed, betrayals, and failures. That's like Life 101. Some might argue that this is a cynical, a pessimistic view of life but they can't deny that this is also the reality. Being pessimistic or cynical does not automatically make it an invalid view. Nobody in life gets what they thought they were going to get. But if you work with devotion, and honesty than it's almost a given that amazing things will happen. For everything in life, you have to struggle and work hard. Even then although nothing is guaranteed, the chances of success are far much greater.

This is not to say that sadness is all bad. Sadness is good. Often times, you have to suffer through that cold touch of sadness to experience that warm embrace of happiness.

Just to escape that cold grip of sadness, we have invented countless devices and have devised infinite methods. Computers, mobile phones, the internet, all are incredibly useful and resourceful. They are surely among the most important inventions of mankind. They have limitless upsides, but like almost everything else in the universe, they also have their downsides. We use computers and mobile phones just so that we can escape - even if it is for a mere minute - from our life which is being crushed under the mountain of responsibilities. Our life in the digital world on the platform of social media is a much more relaxed one than our real life. There are no responsibilities in that digital life and you have all the time in the world. You can chat with friends, watch videos, and do almost anything else you want.

We can't bear sadness and it has gotten to such a point that whenever we feel that rush of it, we reflexively start using our computers/phones. By not feeling sadness, we don't feel happiness. You have to let the rush of sadness collide with you if you want to experience even a slither of happiness.

There are many moments of temporary happiness in our lives. But is it possible to experience true and permanent happiness?

Well, it all comes down to your interpretation of happiness, how hard you're willing to work for it, and a few pinches of luck. In all of the history of man, there must have been at least someone who got through all that life threw at him and achieved what he had dreamt all his life: true and permanent happiness. It is really, really, really hard to be happy, even after you've achieved it through your hard work. Death and withering are ultimately inevitable. It is only a matter of time until you and your loved ones are turned into nothing but dust. So, to me, true and eternal happiness is the temporary moments of happiness which stay with you for the rest of your life. You cherish them and take joy in remembering them. The key is to know that this is the moment that'll stay with me for the rest of my life and I should cherish it and live in it as long as it lasts even if it is for just a second.