One of my all-time favorite happiness songs is “Gloria” by The Midnight, where the singer states:
Oh, Gloria
I feel so much better
I feel so much better today
And it’s not the drugs
And it’s not the weather
I just feel so much better today
This song resonates with me because the singer doesn’t attribute their happiness (i.e., “being better”) to something external, such as “drugs” or “weather.” This contradicts what most people think happiness should be—that is, derived from external sources like money, success, power, and recognition, which are metaphorically represented as “drugs” or “weather” in the context of this song.
Viewing happiness in this external light is equivalent to trying to put together an impossible puzzle that is constantly changing, regularly contradicting itself, and for the most part incomplete. It’s like juggling chainsaws while riding a unicycle blindfolded. Naturally, most people are unable to do so, finding themselves stressed, anxious, and unhappy.
Conversely, we need to do something seemingly impossible: stop chasing happiness and just assume that we are already happy. After all, the more we chase happiness, the more it seems to run away from us. The solution to this paradox of happiness is to simply accept happiness as an integral part of our lives, regardless of our current state. Realistically speaking, true happiness comes from within, not without.
Furthermore, achieving happiness is often easier than most people think, as we are already living in the most advanced society the world has ever seen—definitely better than what the world was 50, 100, 200, or more years ago. As such, if ever we had the tools to be happy, it is right now.
The only reason we might think otherwise is because we always believe we need more and more, perpetuating an endless rat race of comparison, chasing an elusive carrot that always seems just out of reach.
In this way, during my visit to India, I saw many poor people who appeared happier than many people in the “rich” Western world. They were happy not because of their wealth, but because of an inner wealth that keeps them content despite their relatively worse circumstances. And this is real happiness I’m talking about, the kind that we too can cultivate in ourselves, to be happy regardless of what is happening in the world, so we feel so much better today without drugs or good weather.
Stay happy!
1 thought on “It’s Not the Drugs or Weather, But I Feel Happier Today”
Absolutely nailed it there – how chasing happiness causes more unhappiness. I read about this as part of a concept called “Being infragile” and how to indirectly create causes for happiness (by working on health, fitness, spending quality time with close friends etc.)
You must log in to post a comment.