Why should you and society care about happiness?

What we do in life, does affect others.  It may not be intentional, but how we feel internally is shown externally.   To think that your happiness is all your own, is a lie.  Not only do you personally affect people you do know, you influence people you don’t.   Your happiness or unhappiness can have a ripple affect.  For this reason alone what you do, how you act, and how you treat yourself (and others...) matters.  Your individual happiness matters.  You owe it to yourself, loved ones, and people you don’t even know, to allow yourself happiness.  Learn how to be truly happy daily.

    Happiness is important for society as a whole; and is equally as important as it is on an individual level.  Who a person may encounter, and what happens in that interaction, can truly affect the mood of that person.  Maybe the influence is small, but it does happen.   We do have the power to influence others, and we do daily.  For example, have you ever been on the phone with a customer service line?  How different is your experience when your agent is chipper?  Have you ever snapped at an agent, only to see how quickly their mood shifts?  Or have you ever been nice to the agent when they have been rude and watched their mood lift?   It is foolish to say that your happiness is not influenced by others.  Sometimes the impact of society is slow to penetrate our emotional and mental barriers, but it can get through. This is why I believe happiness is so important for society. 

    Inside your mind’s eye, picture that you have just woken from sleep completely refreshed.  Your body woke before the alarm; and outside your window you see the beautiful sunrise.  The pastel pink, purple, blue and yellow colors in the sky take your breathe away; and as rain clouds roll in, you notice how beautiful the sky looks.  Even as the rain drizzles, the smell of fresh rain fills the air; and you know today is going to be beautiful.  Plenty of time is available to enjoy your morning shower, while listening to your favorite song.  You enjoy a delicious breakfast and head off to work.   As you stop for gas you notice a frazzled looking person pumping gas next to you.  Understanding that feeling, you greet them “Good Morning”, with a warm and encouraging smile.  After noticing that they seem to be carrying the world on their shoulder, you politely wish them well for the day.  This person rudely mumbles and drives away.  As you pay for your gas, and greet the teller, you offer another encouraging smile.  Once again you are shot down.  Slowly throughout the day, with each person you encounter, the desire changes from a hopeful and pleasant tone, to something of a more negative mood.  After awhile your lifted mood fades and you start to drift into the mood of society.  The mood you had changed, and was slowly influenced by those people around you (people you may or may not have known). 

    Another situation could look completely different, and influence you in a different way.  Now picture waking up on a cold, wet, and gloomy looking day.  The alarm clock does not sound and the day is off to a late start.  The shower has no hot water and the sink is leaking.  Not only are you now running late but you hit every red light, only to realize you need to stop for gas.   You pull into the gas station and the person next to you greets you with a warm smile and says “Good morning, looks like another wet day.”  The person notices your heavy face and says “Chin-up, a bright day is ahead of you”, you smile slightly, mumble a thank you and drive away.  That person noticed you and seemed to genuinely care, or at least understand the feeling.  You wonder for a brief moment if your mumbling “Have a nice day” sounded as harsh as you feel at the moment.  Still pondering how this person could seem so happy, you arrive late to work; and run straight into your boss.  Your boss laughs and says “Rough morning?”, you laugh too.  With each person you encounter, your mood lifts.   Isn’t it funny how the people we meet on a daily basis can truly influence our mood.   A day can start off dreadful, only to develop into a wonderful one.
           
    Think of the two situations presented.  Haven’t many of us experienced similar mornings? What we do as individuals matter.  How we interact with society matters.  We do not always know the affect we have on others.  It is easy to get lost in our own head and assume that your actions do not have anything to do with another person; and this is foolish thinking.  When you walk slowly on a crowded street, you are forcing everyone behind you to slow down.  Alternately, when you walk quickly down a street, and are stuck behind a slow walker, you realize at times in life you can only go as fast as the person in front of you.  Our actions affect others; sometimes it happens directly or indirectly.  I want to live in a society where people feel that their lives are meaningful.  A place is only as good as the people in it.  I want people to be happy, and you should too.  If the people around you are happier, you will be treated better, and your day will be uplifted directly or indirectly.   Who knows why those other people were happy, but it helped you.   No matter what your personal philosophy or religious beliefs may be, your happiness matters.  We are all here together at this time.  We are in this life together, as a society.  Humans are social creatures, and we will forever be surrounded by others.  Why not make the most of it?   If we are all here together, then why not make our individual moods better?  This could be for the bettering of society, or just the bettering of you; but, as you can see from the examples, sometimes they are one in the same.