I was debating this last night. We came to the conclusion that humans are by nature social creatures, and to achieve true happiness, a human must undergo as many experiences in life as possible and move away from a clingly materialistic personality.
Happiness is a mixture of being content (understanding of a familiar setting) with a new pleasing stimulus.
In this way, you are both surprised by new pleasing (flowers) by your boyfriend (a constant) resulting in happiness.
This is why happiness is not the same as love; happiness ebbs and flows during a period of your life in which there are constants. if your life is chaotic then happiness is harder to find, for there is nothing to which to relate it.
Giving flowers to a crack whore is not the same as giving flowers to a girl at a diner as the diner-girl has a constant job and the flowers are a pleasant stimulus. a crack-whore has no constant and thus flowers evoke no positive emotion.
The world is fast-paced but you can always go at your own paced if you stop comparing with others, one who always compare will never be happy as they are in an endless race to be number one.
There is this Chinese saying, there will always be a higher mountain.
I could go on, but im drunk and need to pee.
This does not apply to certain individuals, but for the masses, what would be the correct “formula”. What do you guys think?