Blissology: The Study of Perfect Happiness and Great Joy

When the word BLISS came up as my “super fab word” for 2009, I wasn’t quite sure how it will work out. What am I meant to learn about it? How will this word affect the way I live my life this year?

Without any plans or agendas regarding this word, I decided just to be more mindful of it. Take note whenever it comes up anywhere. Learn as much as I can about it. Make the word BLISS visible to me.

So, one of the first things I did was to turn to my Oxford Dictionary to check out its meaning:

bliss (noun) – perfect happiness; great joy

Then, it’s followed by:

blissful (adjective) – extremely happy; full of joy

Admittedly, I baulked at the idea of using ‘bliss’ as my word of the year when I read such definitions. It’s tough to live up to anything that has the word ‘perfect’ associated with it. But, I confronted myself with this thought – and I realised that the reason the idea is scary is because I was trying to define perfection in ways that I think others would do so. That’s why I had to remind myself about something I wrote on perfect a few months ago: “No one lives a perfect life based on a universal definition. But we can live our own perfect lives based on what we define perfection to be.”

This brings me back to trying to figure out what bliss means to me. And, what it really means to find perfection in happiness.

So, I decided to use the term, “Blissology” – or the study of perfect happiness and joy.

A study that leads me to ask questions such as: What does it really mean to be happy? What makes anyone joyful? What’s the difference between bliss, happiness, and joy? Are there other words associated with this concept?

To help me go in to this a bit further, I decided to come up with various “Bliss Projects”. I don’t have any concrete ideas yet on what types of projects they’d be. But, so far, these are the things that I’ve done (on top of finding the dictionary meanings and using the term ‘blissology’):

1. I decorated my day planner with the word “bliss” and a quote sticker that reminds me of what blissful moments are as a child. The sticker says: “A child reminds us that PLAYTIME is an essential part of our daily routine.” Something that I’d like to remember – and practice – everyday. I thought having these words in my planner will help me to remember what I’d like to focus on for the year.

2. Looked for the term ‘blissology’ on the internet and found out that it’s also used as a term for a bath/body line. Hmmm…

3. Found this small gift book called ‘bliss’ (designed and edited by Suzanne and Barbara Maheer) – and decided to buy it and read it. It’s now displayed in my home office (since I spend the most time in this room during work days). The book is a nice little read – filled with quotes on happiness and joy. Some interesting ones include:

• “Please notice when you’re happy.”
• “Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.”
• “Follow your inner moonlight. Don’t hide the madness.”
• “If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy

I especially like the lesson from the first quote. The idea of being happy seems so obvious… and yet, it’s true that many of us seem not to notice when we are happy. So, with this in mind, I decided to:

4. Put together a list of “100 things that makes me happy” (work in progress). Of course, I plan on bringing as many of those things in my life as much as possible.

So, let’s see how this path to bliss will turn out…

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