There are some moments in life in which a sudden self-awareness of happiness hits - a moment in which you step back from yourself and realize that, in that instant, everything is good. A feeling of your consciousness pulling away to make an emotional snapshot of that moment to care for and examine like one would a wounded bird or a nugget of gold.

While I don't consider my life as a unhappy one, I only have a few of these moments guarded away. The first being at around age 6. My parents were giving me a group hug while we were all singing a family lullaby. My mother was expecting my baby brother at the time and that was the first time the baby's name was included in the song. I remember feeling detached and floating away while taking in the moment.

The last time I experienced it I had just finished changing the sheets on a new king bed I splurged on after a small windfall. I remember laying on the bedspread and my 2yr old pup hopping on to play around the newly made bed. Instead of ushering him off as I usually did, I just watched him mess up the bedspread.

(I know happiness is not a fixed concept and everyone can have their own definition and experiences, but given my ignorance of the specific word to refer to the instant moment of self-awareness described, I just went with it)

Curious to read your thoughts and experiences.

Yesterday, on my bike, feeling the warm sun on my skin again after a long winter.

January, I took a five day weekend and in the middle of it was actually doing things I wanted to do and having fun, instead of my usual of trudging through work, making dinner, and going straight to bed after. I think that was pretty good, I felt a little happy. Before that it was probably over a year though. I have to enjoy it when it comes, because it's sparse and fleeting.

I know feeling the sun is pure bliss after a long winter. It's astounding how universal this experience is, as if there's a biological reason for it. One of the ways it's amazing to me is that it's a feeling you can imagine sharing with practically at some moment with every other human being in history. Regardless of their location, status, or moment in time; it's a common part of humanity (possibly even with some types of animals).

Thank you for sharing.

That's a nice description. I would say for me, it's when I'm not afraid or worried about everything all the time. These occasions happen, thankfully, but not too often. And sometimes through out the day.

I wonder if the scarcity of these moments adds to their value.

I'm not in favor of self-denying ourselves these special moments when we can, but, as someone who has been unemployed, I feel a big difference in doing whatever you want because you choose to as opposed to because there's nothing else to do.

The modern workplace has become a chore, and while I know it's not realistic or practical to "do what you love", it is a bit sad to think the modern workplace is more a chore necessary for survival rather than a natural activity endowed with meaning on its own terms. At least, in my case.

Thank you for sharing.

Elation is a moment. And honestly that’s fleeting. When most people think of happiness, they are really feeling elation. Happiness is a state of mind. With happiness it’s more or less being content and enjoying your big picture ..

Today. I woke up.

Thank you for this.

Two weeks ago. It comes and goes.

I’ve been a bit overworked lately and that’s made me feel numb generally. Then of course there’s the news… I’m very not happy with the world at the moment.

Uhhh, kindergarten maybe?

I know it's not the type of answer you're looking for, but I felt a moment of communal joy reading your story and all the other replies here. Thanks for sharing and helping bring that out in others, op. Love you.

Oh god yes!

1988

Same man, I've been working so much lately and feel like I need a break

I mean not the last time but as I look back over my life there is this point in time where my wife and I lived in the city in a neighborhood just out city center in a two flat. I worked at a research university and while the pay was low it had benefits and we could pay our monthly nut. It was 3 miles away and I could walk, bike, or take the bus. I would often walk in the morning and my wife would take the dog and there was this park about a mile or so away and we would have a little kiss goodbye and I would keep going to work while she walked the dog through the park and back home. We could spur of the moment grab food from close by places or any grocery item we wanted by walking. It was glorious. The lab I worked in was a research lab and interesting as heck on a day to day basis and collaborated globally. We had folks from japan practically every other summer doing research as well as many eurpean companies. Oh also my wife and I were barely in our thirties. it was sweet.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful moment.

The first, strongest, and longest lasting moment like this I can recall is when I was 15 and homeless and a friend snuck me in to sleep on their floor. I felt safe and understood and accepted in a way I never had before and all too rarely have since. It's still a moment I escape to sometimes when circumstances are rough and I can't change them. Not the food or the games or the teen romance, just laying there in the dark knowing that everything was (and could actually be) ok. That a better world was possible, so to speak. That I wasn't alone.

I honestly cannot remember.

Yeah I did a lot of overtime last week. A lot.

My brain is still baked.

I don’t normally but sometimes that’s needed, just usually I get time off after and I don’t have that luxury at the moment.

What work are u doing?

Made me think of Vonnegut's prologue to Slapstick:

"I have had some experiences with love, or think I have, anyway, although the ones I have liked best could easily be described as "common decency." I treated somebody well for a little while, or maybe even for a tremendously long time, and that person treated me well in turn. Love need
not have had anything to do with it.

Also: I cannot distinguish between the love I have for people and the love I have for dogs.

When a child, and not watching comedians on film or listening to comedians on the radio, I used to spend a lot of time rolling around on rugs with uncritically affectionate dogs we had. And I still do a lot of that. The dogs become tired and confused and embarrassed long before I do. I could go on forever.

Hi ho."

When i ate that tasty mango yesterday,at 10pm

I'd recommend reading The Power Of Now. Its actually life changing. If this book replaced all religions, I bet we would have close to a utopia overnight.

The premise is simple, and you highlighted it in your stories. There is nothing but the Now. Dwelling on the bad past is pain. The worry of the future is pain. There can be no joy in either. All you ever have is the Now.

It takes mind training to get into that mindset, but its truly freeing. There's no sky daddy. No misogonyst racist preachers. Its just You, Life, and Now.

And I am not some hippy dippy person who thinks energy crystals make you younger. I'm a wrencher and a PC nerd and I don't do yoga. But I definitely recommend that book to everyone.

A few days ago when that naval base in Bahrain got kablammed

I found some chocolate in my desk yesterday that was pretty good, happiness is fleeting, take what you can get

Waking up to no headache after feeling gross yesterday due to said headache.

~Oct 10, 2021 to about ~Nov 26, 2021.

For a short time, thought I was going to be a dad. Was finally happy again. Torn away when I figured out the only reason she wanted to have kids with me was so I could bank roll her. I was just an ATM.

Before that, maybe around 2004-2007. Was in college, in what I thought was a happy relationship, had friends, genuinely looked forward to each day. I had goals and dreams. I smiled because I wanted to, not because it's what people expected.

I thought I killed my analog oscilliscope about 20 minutes ago. Thankfully I didn't, so that's pretty cool.

If I'm smart, I'll soon cut off basically everything news adjacent, maybe including lemmy depending if I can get good filters. Maybe a desprate effort to claw back from anything which weighs me down, given the gravity of our future, but eh.

Summer of 2013. Just graduated high school and parents were fine with me taking a few months to relax before starting the job search. Once that started I became miserable again, especially once I got a job.

Yesterday I was just driving home from the grocery store and the sky was a beautiful shade of pink. Light snow on the ground driving by a state park. In that moment I knew everything was Ok and I was at a state of peace I never would’ve thought possible even 1 year ago.

Ever since that DMT experience I had about 8 months ago, I have had more and more moments like this. And overall a profound sense of peace and joy. I have never been more grateful for a drug in my life.

Eckhart Tolle. Thich Nhat Hanh. Maharaj. Some of my favorite folks.

Nonduality and mindfulness (and a bit of DMT) have brought me a profound sense of peace and happiness into my life that I never thought imaginable.

How did you come into possession of that? (Totally not a cop, now please speak clearly into my chest area.)

Dang, man. 🫂

Me after reading this thread.

Fuck, am I depressed?

Yesterday my wife texted me to say that her body is clear from what was preventing a pregnancy (won't go into too much detail). a beacon of hope after years of struggling.

I can’t wait for this feeling when it gets warmer.

It's been a few years. I was rebuilding myself. For context, I used to be a pretty shitty person. People tell me I wasn't that bad but I hate the person I used to be. I actually felt good about myself for the first time in my life and was happy. Due to a combination of factors I rebounded heavy on the self loathing and depression and have been that way ever since. That was a few years ago.

Sometimes the worry about future things is necessary though. It's just unfortunate that not doing that all the time is so difficult.

That's only true if thinking stuff over is already worrying about something. It's a fine line, I guess.

This morning watching my dog steal my spot in bed and snuggle with my husband.

This morning when I looked at my manicure. Even though it's time for another. I love my nails and they make my day when I take a few seconds to look at them.

I have no idea. I only have two modes: distracted and uncomfortable.

If I'm uncomfortable then I'm not happy;
If I'm distracted, I might be happy but I won't notice.

You describe a beautiful life: health, companionship, meaningful work, and material stability. What else could one ask for?

Thank you for sharing this.

I'm pretty sure depression is a human condition that ebbs and flows on a spectrum, and increases in intensity, as we age.