The Paradox Of Happiness 矛盾的幸福
Anonymous 佚名
What is the definition of“happiness？”Is it material wealth filled with fancy cars，a dream house，extravagant furs and jewelry？Or is happiness simply having a roof over your head？Food in the fridge？Having a child？A pet？A swimming pool？A designer Cucci bag？Parents？Grandchildren？Love？Money？The perfect job？Winning the Lottery？
According to the American Heritage Dictionary，“happiness”is derived from the Middle English word hap meaning“Luck”.But does happiness really have to do with“luck”？Based on this description，one could assume that if you avoided a fatal traffic accident but got fired by coming late to work，you would be filled with“happiness？”.Is it luck or what you make of it？Maybe，“happiness”is exactly defined by its indirect alias；happiness—perhaps，happiness is in fact defined by the fortune that we permit to happen.
Do you recall a time—let’s say when you were about 5years old—what defined happiness back then？Was it getting a puppy for Christmas？Or maybe，you were a child of divorce；and all you wanted was for Mom and Dad to get back together again？Then as you got older，you were hoping that someone would ask you to the prom that would’ve made your day，maybe your life for the moment.During college，good grades made you happy but it was short-lived.Because in the real world，you had to look for a job，and competition was stark.It’s an employer’s world you thought.But then，you got the perfect job—now you could be happy—or could you？
Life requires more than just what we want.Inevitably，one must understand to truly find“happiness，”he must make his own happiness happen.Sounds a bit redundant，but truthfully，there is no set guidelines that will bring one happiness.There is no“magic wand”we can wave to bring joy into our lives.Human nature thrives on the thrill of the chase.We dream and we hope for the next big break—it is the grand adventure of living.
We are hopeless creatures of comfort.We like having and accumulating things.Whether one admits to it or not，to a certain degree，we all try to keep up with“the Johns”.We work so we can pay our rents，mortgage，credit card debts，school loans，car payments…….The list goes on and on.And at some point，we realize，that aside from having most of what we want，we still aren’t happy.Now since we’ve learened to adapt to new standards which we’ve created for ourselves，we find that we have less time，less patience，less sleep，which equates to more stress，more worry and more aggravation.So，is happiness honestly just comprised of“things”？
Sometimes，we virtually trade our lives for not only basic neccessities，but for excessive items and services as well.We become so obsessedwith finding happiness，that we lose sight of the fact that happiness is within-always.Certainly you’ve heared of individuals trying to“find themselves”，or“rediscover themselves”.The reason they are attempting these innovative approaches is because they are seeking inner happiness.But the point has been missed—Happiness is already there.
Disappointments and tragedies in life will come and go，but happiness never leaves you.The human’s capacity to be resilient to trials is unfathomable.We can lose our jobs，but be grateful for our spouses.We can lose our homes to nature，but be thankful to be alive.
Happiness is a perception of each individual.We are instinctively compelled to find fault in our lives.By human nature，we begin our “fault-finding”mission the moment we’re capable of free-thinking.It is then，that we lose sense of self-worth and the bigger picture of vitality altogether.Stuck in the patterns of the happiness paradox，we simply cannot find where our happiness has gone.
It’s not a matter of bargaining，it’s not an issue of money or fame-instead，happiness is what you resolve to accept.If we live through optimistic hope；if we dare to dream；if we empower ourselves to fully live；then we have regained our sense of happiness.There is no in between.There is no other replacement.We only have one physical life to live—we have no choice but to make the most of it.
滿足是一個人幸福，但是渴望完美、追求成功就要有野心、有斗志、永不滿足……
參考翻譯（修立芬）
幸福的定義是什么？是有足夠的錢去買喜歡的名車，理想的豪宅，奢侈的皮毛和珠寶？擁有一座可以遮風擋雨簡單的小屋？還是冰箱里塞滿的食物？或者是生一個寶寶？養一只寵物？擁有一個游泳池？一款庫奇包？從事完美的工作？父母身體健碩？有一個外孫？擁有一份愛情？有錢？有理想的工作？還是中彩票？
美國傳統詞典中，“幸福”這個詞是中世紀英語中的“hap”，就是“運氣”這個詞衍生來的。可是幸福真的和運氣有關嗎？那不妨設想一下，假如你幸運的逃過了一場致命的車禍，但卻因為遲到被解雇。這種情況下你還“幸福”嗎？是運氣作祟還是你自己造成的呢？或許幸福應該這樣定義——幸福或許就是命中注定發生的事情。
回想一下過去，5歲的你覺得幸福是什么呢？也許是在圣誕節時收到一只小狗。也許當時你生活在單親家庭，你的幸福就是父母能破鏡重圓。隨著年齡再大一點，你的幸福也許是希望有人邀請你跳舞，那會成為你一生中最重要的一天。大學的時候，你的幸福也許是優異的成績，但這畢竟是短暫的。因為當你走入社會，你要去找工作，面對激烈的競爭。接著你找到一份非常好的工作，此時你一定覺得自己很幸福，對嗎？
生活對我們的索取往往比我們想象的多。我們要明白這個道理，并去尋找真正的“幸福”，然后努力使自己的幸福發生。沒有一本明確的指南會告訴你如何收獲幸福，也沒有一揮就可以把幸福帶入我們生活的魔棒，這聽上去很多余但卻是事實。人類在不斷地追求中成長，我們夢想著、期望著下一個重大轉機——那就是生活中的大冒險。
我們喜歡享樂，我們喜歡擁有和積累“物質”。不管人們承認與否，一定程度上我們都喜歡和周圍的人攀比。我們不得不工作因為我們還要付房租、抵押貸款、信用卡的貸款、助學貸款、買車付款等等。這些賬單沒完沒了。有時我們會恍然發現，原來即使我們什么都擁有了，還是不“幸福”。既然我們已懂得去接受這些由我們自己制定的新生活標準，就會發現：時間少了，耐心少了，睡眠少了，相應的卻有更多壓力，更多憂愁，更多怒火。所以，幸福真的是由“物質”構成的嗎？
事實上，有時候我們以自己的生命換取的不僅僅是生活必需品，還有很多無謂的物質享受和服務。我們變得如此熱衷于去尋找幸福以至于我們都忽視了這個事實：幸福是一種內在的感受。你肯定聽過身邊的人說要“找回自己”，或者“重新認識自己”。他們努力地嘗試這些新穎方法只因為他們想尋找內心的幸福。但是有一點大家都沒有注意到——其實幸福就在眼前。
人生，總會有失望和悲劇來了又還，但是幸福卻從來沒離開過你。人類的抗壓能力強大到無法估量。即使失去了工作，我們仍為伴侶的不離不棄而心存感激。即使天災毀掉了家園，我們仍為活著而心存感激。
幸福是一種感覺。我們會本能的去強迫自己發現生活中的不足。當我們有能力自由思考的時候，就開始了這項“吹毛求疵”的任務。接著我們失去了對自我價值的感知，也失去了生命的活力。我們陷入了矛盾的幸福中，最后連自己都找不到幸福在哪里了。
這不是討價還價的問題，也不是錢和名譽的問題。事實上，幸福是你決心要接受的東西。如果我們的生活充滿了積極向上的希望，我們自身敢于夢想、充實自己、活的瀟灑，那我們就可以重新找回幸福感。沒有商量的余地，也沒有替代品。人的一輩子只能活一次，所以我們除了利用這次機會好好地生活別無選擇。
Let Go 順其自然
Anonymous 佚名
The experience of love is an inner state.When this is present，you are happy，alive，and free.You feel good about yourself and good about life.As you bring the experience of love into your life，life works effortlessly and great things happen.
The opposite of love is fear and upset.When this is present，you lose down inside.You lose your creativity and your ability to see clearly.You get tunnel vision and you interact in a way that almost always makes your situation worse.