Happiness is...
Even a small child who can speak more or less well will tell you what happiness is. It's when you're feeling good and when mama is near feeding you with your favourite vanilla ice-cream... A child will share similar thoughts with you if you ask your question about happiness. The kid will use his specifically simple i.e. childish words and trivial sentences but what important is that even children understand the general meaning of the notion 'happiness'. They aren't yet able to go into the issue more profoundly, but they certainly will do it when they grow up. Needless to say that we grown-ups can dwell upon the issue of happiness for hours, most of us will even sound very serious and trustworthy when doing so. We can sound as experts in happiness even if we abstractly deliver endless lectures on the subject of being happy. Some of us may even reach great success and write a book about happiness (with the title '100 Steps on Your Way to Happiness' or something like that) or make a film about happiness or reach any other scientific i.e. theoretical heights when it's about the issue of being happy.
But you should know that when you only say 'I want to be happy' i.e. without extra goals, actions or movements behind your words, you will hardly ever reach anything inspiring. Each person wants to be happy, but the key word here is still 'being' (happy), not simply wanting happiness. It's as silly as if you said 'I want to swallow the sun'. Equally 'smart' reply would be: 'Oh well, okay, go for it!' That is why in order to BE happy, you should first of all get out of your cocoon of routine and quite solvable problems which at first sight seem huge... To cut a long story short start feeling happy in order to be happy, i.e. start viewing your life as a half-full glass (as opposed to the half-empty one).
Sometimes we feel that happiness is like a sort of invisible ghost who you would love to catch and never let go, but on the other hand you certainly realize that it's impossible to 'enslave' it forever. People chase happiness sometimes without realizing what exactly it is for them. Just a word, just a feeling, just a few days or months or years, just eternity... But you should take into account the fact that in order to catch happiness and make the most of your 'lucky catch' (not to mention making it stay for good), you should know for certain what you want. Moreover, you should fortunetell if things you crave for so much will bring you your long-waited and preciously dreamed-out happiness or not.
Discussing the subject of happiness is certainly exciting, we have no doubt that all our conclusions are correct and sound very wise indeed. But it's practice that makes perfect, or, in other words it's practice that makes you happy.
Switching to the issue of practising Happiness... If you're asked such simple questions as 'What Is Happiness to You?' or 'Are You a Happy Person' or 'What Have You Done to Be Happy' etc, you may suddenly lose your theoretical happy-savvy at once. Why? Because now you have to speak about your own happy achievements i.e. when you state something firmly, you must be very experienced in this issue.
So let's start answering all these questions. Reflect on what exactly will make you happy. Perhaps, your soulmate will, or successful career or kids or money – anything, maybe even all in one. You should also realize that you are already happy when your life is peaceful and is 'visited' neither by professional hurricanes nor by personal quakes. In other words, - wanting to reach happiness is really good but what is also important here is ability to firmly keep hold of reality instead of flying up dreamingly high above it. That is why from now on we'll speak of happiness solely from pragmatically practical point of view.