Do you believe people make happiness, or stumble upon it?

[Super Llama]

The opportunity to make yourself happy is what you stumble upon.

[Minnah_23]

People unknowingly stumble upon happiness every day, but a made effort to be happy is what's most blissful.

[Celestial Moth]

Both. Because if it wasn't both, then the same thing couldn't be said about pain.. Though pain is blessed upon some without any effort and is also given to those who go about a great deal out of their way to discover it, unintentionally.

[Moonlight Amaryllis]

This seems like an awfully deep thread.

Happiness is there in everyone's life, no matter how one comes to terms with it. Some experience it because they are surrounded by people who love them, and others because they go out and seek what makes them happy, whether it is a good meal that they love or a good book they adore. Happiness is a feeling that makes you strive for more, and feel light as air (for me, anyways). The "what" that triggers this happiness, though, can be anything, whether it's a cute little puppy or watching someone else's blood pool up on the floor. So no matter what, not everyone will be happy, because someone will need happiness from someone's pain.

...That got depressing fast. *flees*

[AnakBae]

I believe "The meaning of happiness" and "What happiness is" itself is vary from one person to another.
For me it is something that I have to pursue, like goals but its the result upon completing the goals.

[pirate555]

Happiness is certainly easier to come by if your environmental conditions are favourable, and those conditions are coincidental. For example, being born into a loving family, whose members live to a ripe old age; chancing upon an attractive mate with common ideals and mutual affection; receiving a monetary windfall.

That being said, your own actions can help to bring a family together, you can work hard to improve yourself and be more benevolent friend and partner, and you can strive hard to earn the money that lets you fulfil your material ambitions and allow you to have inspiring experiences.

And I think that when you strive for happiness, though the journey is harder, that happiness is ultimately deeper and more complete.

The phrase "character-building" to describe a difficult experience often gets bandied about as a synonym for "unfair and soul-destroying"; but I think there is something to be said for it.

[sizida]

I can't make myself happy but scenery and other people's action makes me happy.

So you can say I stumbled upon things makes me happy, and yes people makes happiness and I too am happy with them.

[iFi Salamander]

Happiness is certainly easier to come by if your environmental conditions are favourable, and those conditions are coincidental. For example, being born into a loving family, whose members live to a ripe old age; chancing upon an attractive mate with common ideals and mutual affection; receiving a monetary windfall.

For the most part regardless of situation people have a set level of happiness determined by genetics. I am miserable most of the time, but I know if my brain was releasing the amount of dopamine to cause me to be happy on a regular basis, it would just exhaust me to know end. This is why happy people are always all over the place, and miserable people stay that way objectively.

That being said, your own actions can help to bring a family together, you can work hard to improve yourself and be more benevolent friend and partner, and you can strive hard to earn the money that lets you fulfil your material ambitions and allow you to have inspiring experiences.

And I think that when you strive for happiness, though the journey is harder, that happiness is ultimately deeper and more complete.

Realistically it is going to come down to how the persons perception of said journey really is. Even if goals are fulfilled and effort is put forth, if you have to use others to get there it can leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

I have aspirations to be a doctor, if I could tone down my arrogance and incompetence I could make it through school fine to pull that off.

However at the end of the day how can I feel happy when all my ambition was put into ultimately fulfilling my own desire, even if it does help others? From an objective standpoint every human action including altruistic ones are selfish.

At the same time if we ever reach that end of the road we could lose touch with what to actually do next. This is why I think happiness is a fleeting sense of ecstasy that lives only in the moment it is perceived.

[Elysian]

Happiness is self-made, and the term happiness differs with the individuals

[Dragontail]

Happiness is a little of both. It depends on the event.