Sometimes, reflections show up at the oddest times. For me, they often surface while driving. Is there a road to happiness? Is it a narrow path? A massive freeway? What is happiness anyway?
When Jasmyne asked me to edit her chapter entitled My Journey in the Search for Happiness in the book The Midas Touch , my mind immediately went into overdrive. I started analyzing every angle, overthinking every possibility. Then I caught myself: Wait, this isn’t even about me. I can think about me later. So I paused, took a deep breath, and let the editing came naturally.
What is happiness? Is it something that happens when you win the jackpot or finally earn that coveted title? Is it wrapped up in the purchase of a fancy handbag, a diamond bracelet, or a dream home? Or is happiness more experiential—good health, good friends, good times? Is it all of these? None of these?
I recently heard a story about someone who was unable to leave their house because of some weight gain. This person was beautiful, wealthy, with a life full of pretty things—clothes, cars, houses. From the outside, it seemed they had everything. So where was the problem?
At first, I caught myself thinking, What’s the big deal? But then, I leaned into curiosity and compassion. I listened with love.
Beneath that polished exterior, I saw something familiar: a frightened soul struggling under the weight of expectations—both literal and emotional. I imagined her drowning under layers of thought, each one adding to the heaviness, suffocating her spirit. What struck me was how universal this feeling is.
We all carry layers of thought that stop us from truly living. For her, it was weight and the pressure to look a certain way for others to approve. For me, it’s often something else entirely, but the feeling is the same. When we can look past those layers with love—whether for ourselves or for others—everything changes.
Perhaps happiness isn’t about the road we’re on but the way we navigate it. With each step, a layer unfolds, and in that unfolding, we reconnect with the love that was always there.
Happiness, it seems, isn’t about “having” or even “achieving.” It’s about being. And maybe that’s the journey we’re all on—learning to see ourselves and others through the lens of love. Everything truly is possible with love.
And so the journey continues…