What does it mean to be happy? For each and everyone of us it means something completely different… For a lot of people they are convinced that the route to eternal happiness is MONEY. For others it’s being around their family and the need to be needed by them. Happiness takes many forms but if you really take the time to assess what has made you truly happy without conditions during your life I am betting that it wasn’t money. When you think about what makes you smile? What makes your heart smile and enlightens your life? It is being loved and loving in return. When we are sad we don’t go running to the bank for advice or snuggle up with a debit card do we?

My happiness is watching my daughter smile at me and hearing her say, “I love you mummy.” When I pick her up from school and see the smile widen across the whole width of her face when she spots me amongst the other parents at her classroom door. I found true happiness that is without condition and is truly reciprocated when I became a mother. A happiness I would not trade in for anything…

Happiness is found in relationships of course, but this is often with conditions and not always reciprocated for the duration of that relationship sadly. People may argue that happiness came to them when they became financially stable again this kind of happiness will only last as long as the money does, so therefore this is often temporary.

Happiness in my humble opinion is measured by the very happy feelings we feel because of the effort and love of others around us that care and love us unconditionally. Having great success in your life is made a far happier experience when shared with others around you. If you keep it all for yourself then you will feel pretty lonely don’t you think? Therefore not experiencing happiness in the way you thought you would from that success.

Look at all those people who won the lottery, many of them took part in a documentary in the UK a few years ago and it was rather shocking to see how many of them had already swindled away their money, fallen out with family members and friends over the money they’d won?  Why? Because it’s money and money can never guarantee your happiness, not ever. It will not get you the man of your dreams in the way you think it will, it will not cement all those fractured friendships and it most certainly won’t wash away all the problems that were there before the money arrived.

Happiness comes from within, from deep down in your soul, by giving and sharing and helping and being there for people when it really matters. For a mother, it means never giving up on your child no matter what,  “unconditional love” from which many moments of pure happiness will come.

When was the last time you did an act of kindness for no reason at all, just because it was a nice thing to do? An act of kindness can mean so much to many people, giving them the time of day can make them feel happy on a bad day.

Happiness is not measured by money but by the unselfish acts of us human beings, by loving without conditions and remembering in this harsh world that we have a heart for a reason.