As we frantically scurry through our lives, we are all searching for one thing. Although it comes in different forms and goes by many names, ultimately our need is one: happiness. We all seek out the people that make our hearts unravel, the moments that tingle through our skin and the hopes that glint in the pupil of our eye. We look for the experiences that make us feel good, that warm our chest and excite us. And whilst a little rain is inevitable – and helps wash the dirt away – everything grows best in the light. Happiness drives us forward, inspires us and encourages us. We may use the word casually or to scale our days from 1-10, but happiness has an even greater hold on us. It cannot be simplified for even though it stems from little things, happiness is a feeling that can only be felt as grand. 

Powerful yet gentle, happiness is the surging sensation we all desire. We desperately scavenge for it through fleeting thrills, between acquainted faces, or under the musk of an evening out. Images on screen set the standard with which we define the quality of our lives. We buy clothes, smile and swim in tropical waters. Taking pictures to validate the joy. We thrive off of looking happy, but rarely ever feel truly happy. We work to keep our pockets full, instead of living to fuel our hearts and minds. We prefer quickly mending today, when we could build tomorrow. We indulge in the immediate and instant when we should linger with the people around us, let words share our thoughts and feelings, and create with our hands. We should take time to watch how coffee brews or notice the man behind the cup. To shamelessly feel every human emotion. To take pride in crying and to unapologetically love. To truly let happiness ring in our core, rattling in our bones; reminding us to move. 

In our constant effort to cling onto happiness – as if it were an item we can squeeze in our palms – we tend to overlook it. When in reality, it waits for us between the subtleties of life; the details we miss about the world around us and the people in it. From the sense of purpose in the little things to the courage we build for the big things. In the way a stranger feels like home or the way the sea lets us unravel. Happiness isn’t a final state to be possessed, it is an everlasting, ongoing feeling woven into our daily experiences. An endless ideal that drives us forward, inspires us and encourages us. But unless we spark a light within ourselves, it can never truly be seen.