Happiness?

Bismillah...(in the name of God) I start.....
Assalaamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh, peace be upon you all!
I am generally happy person, but there are days when I am sad, upset or just plain angry. I came to wonder why my happiness cannot last longer and began to do a little writing. Insha'Allaah, this new perspective of life can give us many many reasons to smile.Before I begin anything, I'd just like to define happiness.


Happiness...its a word that carries many different definitions. The general meaning on the dictionary is "pleasant feeling and expression of joy" but just like love, to many people happiness is indescribable. It is that you-know-what-I-mean- feeling- all of us have....some more than others. Happiness for some people is a destination and for others, it is just a mood that does not last for a lifetime. However, what is happiness really, who is the happy one and what brings happiness to the soul.


Normally, I'd say that happiness is having all that you want and need in your life...but the truth is, one can possess things and yet be miserable. For me, happiness is a state of mind. It is brought by the little unnoticed moments of life such as hearing the laughter of a child, giving a helping hand to another person, and of feeling loved by those around you. Like most emotions, happiness is just a mood which cannot last for such along time because remember happiness is just that-------a state of mind.
 Many of us teens and young adults seek the quickest pleasure from the life of rock and roll, sex and drugs. Pleasures that satisfy us for just a limited time-for just that one moment we're engaging in. In our search of peace and contentment, at some point in our lives we stumble upon religion. And here many of us find the ultimate bliss, the actual heaven on earth. 


I found mine in the religion of Islam  which is literary away of life.....we're taught what our sole purpose of life is, where we're headed, the different paths and of course how to attain the destination we choose. Everything is laid down for us....and we're given the choice to follow that which we want or not. If one chooses to follow the path of Islam, they're obliged to enter it completely! As Allah the glorified said "O ye who believe! enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the Evil One; for he is to you an avowed enemy" (ch2:207). So happiness comes from knowing who you are, where you're headed and the ways to achieve your ultimate goal .It takes along hard search to find our own unique identities for most of us are lost trying to be "wannabes" but once we find that unique person within us-we have reached the point in which we can dictate where we want our life to be, how we want it to end and what kind of foot prints we want to leave behind. The guidance is in the message of God to man kind....and it is crystal clear for any searching soul to understand. 

Ones we as humans know, are convinced and accept that there is God with great power and might...who has not left us to wonder around this place called "universe" without first providing us with guidance and mercy then and only then will we begin to feel the blessings and start appreciating.
Happiness comes from being content with what we have, appreciating the fortune that we have been given, and most of all loving and being grateful to the one who has blessed us. 
So lets remember the following:
Created: to worship and please our Lord
Follow: Qur'an and Sunnah
Destination: Jannah


When we start to put Allah first in everything we begin to taste the sweetness of faith. And like our beloved prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) we'd always smile. 
My search of happiness is not done yet for I struggle to please my Lord everyday. I fall and get up again trying to do that which is good for my soul. The ladder to happiness is long, but with patience and persistence anyone can reach it with the mercy of God almighty.