Happiness Is Key

Key to a Satisfying Life

What is the point of life? What is the key to a satisfying life? Is it to always be happy? Is it to have everything one needs? These types of questions have always been and are being asked from every corner of the world. Most elderly people usually say that everybody needs to live their life to always be happy. If the key to a satisfying life is happiness then what is happiness? Happiness cannot be measured by a scale or by how much money and other belongings you have. During a missionary trip to Haiti, my cousins showed me pictures of children who didn’t have anything. All they had were the clothes on their back and each other. They had no delicious food or new toys to play with; they didn’t even have a good shelter to sleep in, but still they were all happy. Many children that live in more civilized countries have toys, food, clean water, and nice clothes, yet they do not have the happiness that these children have. This got me thinking about what makes a person happy and what is true happiness? Some say money will make people happy, the more someone has the happier they’ll be; but when you look at the situation in Haiti and other poor countries, people are very poor and they still are happy and sometimes happier then people who are rich. So what exactly is happiness, having a lot of money or being around a family or friends?

Many different factors can influence how much happiness we feel in our lives. According to the article The Economics of Happiness, Carol Graham performed research and his research shows that the poorest people are not usually the ones who are frustrated and unhappy. This research and many others have shown that money has a very small role in the happiness we feel in our lives. Money cannot change a person’s character. If a person was miserable most of the time, and did not appreciative what they had, then money will not change this. Money cannot change someone’s outlook on life or how they feel, they remain the...