Happiness and Your Relationships

The solution to "happiness" has been a puzzle ever since the beginning of mankind. There is no sure-win formula. However, there are certain things you can start with, for example, by noticing the people around you. This is not only for your romantic relationships but, more importantly, your friendships.

There are three types of friendships that come in the form of "precious," "aloof," and "dangerous." Let's end the discussion on a positive note and start with the most negative friendship.

THE DANGEROUS FRIEND
What makes someone a "dangerous friend," yet still a "friend"? Generally, you would not want to be around this type of person. However, (most commonly) they may be a childhood friend. You've grown up with them all your life and you just happened to play together as young children. As you grow older and meet more people, you begin to realize that you really aren't happy with your childhood friend. As a matter of fact, you begin to notice minute flaws with the person's character. Maybe he or she tries to sabotage your reputation in front of others to make herself look better. Maybe she secretly flirts with the guy she knows you not only like, but already have a flirty relationship with. Anything anyone does to meddle with your life should not be in your life. If you keep this dangerous friend around, you will only have to count the seconds until she strikes again. Ultimately, he or she will push you out to die in order to live a more comfortable life.

THE ALOOF FRIEND
You might have met him or her through a friend or through a party. To make them more than just an acquaintance, she has probably come out to a group event more than several times and may even have hung out with you one-on-one a few times. As you learn more about this person, you realize there's not much to learn. She is unwilling to open up her feelings and her personal world to you. At the same time, the moment you are under stress with your problems and want to share with her, you realize she just does not care. Then you finally understand she is only your friend when it is convenient for her. She is not a bad person, but, she has no heart to become your true friend.

THE PRECIOUS FRIEND
This is the one. This is the soulmate of the friendship world. Whether you met him or her in your younger years or you met her yesterday, you feel the beauty of your friendship immediately. She calls or texts you on a regular basis and you both share feelings and thoughts. You can both analyze and reason through any given situation and have it not escalate to the point of breakup. She knows when you are going through a rough time and will call you to hang out and make sure you are still OK. She is angry at you when you make stupid decisions that harm yourself. She shares her whole world with you and expects you to do the same. Whether you reciprocate the enthusiasm of this friendship, you must know that the precious friend is extremely rare and hard to find. No matter what, hold on tight to them!

Your happiness is in direct correlation to the people around you. Take a second to step back and analyze your friends. One must learn to let go of the ones who hurt them and surround herself with only the positive characters. Only then, can you start to enjoy true happiness.

Although you surround yourself with the right people, it does not ensure your happiness... But it is the step in the right direction.

Money, Money, Money, Makes the World Go 'Round

"'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life,

Trying to make ends meet,
You're a slave to money, then you die..."

~ The Verve

To those who are religious, we pray to God (or to gods, depending on your background; to each his own). We praise Him, and ask Him to bring Peace, Love, and Happiness to our lives and to the lives around us. We put Him on a pedestal and acknowledge Him as a power much greater than ourselves.

To the atheists, we believe in and need nobody but ourselves. Who decides our fates but you and me?--Especially in the United States where the American Dream is so easily achievable.

It seems the general public often searches for someone or something to believe in or to look up to, yet we tend to overlook what should be so obvious to us: We prepare our children to become slaves to money, just as we had been prepared when we were young. This vicious cycle engulfs all of our lives. Money holds our fate; without it's "blessing," we would not survive in our present society, and with it, we could rule the world. Admit it: Money owns us.

Yes, we work hopelessly for money. Your parents raise you in hopes that you not only become good citizens of society, but also that you gain a higher education so that you may earn more money than they had. With money, comes security and happiness. Get a successful job, buy a house, buy a car, raise a family, gain material pleasures, and have your children repeat history. Side advantages like prestige and power of course come along with the majority of successful jobs. This is what is expected of us, and whether you are aware of it or not, that is what you will eventually work towards.

Even as we rebel against society's expectations of striving to be the richest, most prestigious citizens, we are still at the mercy of Money. You want to be free? There's a price that comes with that. You want to travel the world? You want to disappear from the world? You want to SAVE the world? YES, there's a price that comes with all of that.

And in the end, what is money anyway? Realistically, money is the utmost power in society, and we are its bitch.

The Easy Life

Is it a curse or a blessing to find out things in life come easily to you?

There are some people who work to the bone for a measly bread and crumbs meal. Maybe they work half their lives to finally buy a brand new car—the first new car they’ve ever owned, and perhaps the only new car they will ever own. And buying their own house? Let’s not even get started with that. We are not talking just about those in poverty. We are talking about those who are limited in talent, intelligence, and especially, luck. You may be from a fairly well off background, given equal opportunities, work twice as hard as your friendly neighbor, but still it seems they get so much more in return. It boggles your mind! How did they do it?!

Some people have been guided all their lives by luck. Some people were born with a natural talent. Some people are just so smart that they’ve thought up every step of the solution before you even begin to recognize the problem. And what of it? There’s nothing you can do but accept the fact that your life was not born a little more fortunate than the average Joe. 

Now, if you believe you were one of those born to the elite group of lucky, talented, intelligent few, I pose a question to you: Do you remember that one point in life where you realized the fact? How did that sway you in your decision-making?

When you come to the realization that things in life come fairly easy to you, (or at least more so than to the booger sitting next to you) there are two resulting consequences: 1) You realize that the universe has the gem of all opportunities never given to others, awaiting you to just pluck the rewards, what with some hard work and determination; 2) You realize that the universe works in your favor even if you don’t put in much effort, therefore resulting in a lesser work ethic and/or a stress-free life. (PARTAYYYYY!)

So, once again, is it a blessing or a curse the moment you realize that things in life come easily to you? Yes, it’s easy to say, “I’m already working hard. If I found out things in life come easily to me and I can achieve much more as long as I continue this strong work ethic, of course I would continue to work hard—possibly work 10 times harder!” (Chances are, if you are thinking this right now, you probably have not realized you are one of the lucky ones, and you are probably not one of the elite few. Sorry.) However, that is rarely the case as we all weaken to temptation and fall complacent with what we already have.