Happiness Defined: Your Interpretations Of What It Means To Experience Joy (PHOTOS)

Happiness, as the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it, is "a state of well-being and contentment." Sure, that's one way to put it. But what does it really mean to feel on top of the world or entirely at peace with oneself? Do you feel immersed in joy? On cloud nine?

We were curious about the deeper, more personal interpretations of the sensation we all know so well. So we asked our Facebook community to tell us how they explain the joyful feeling. See some of our favorite definitions below then let us know in the comments: How do you define happiness?

"Being at peace with everything going on around you." -- Kimberly Clark

"Travel!" -- Verna Coomer Ott

"Peace, contentment and love from a job well done." -- Sally Duros

"The absence of want. I have everything I need and I do what I love." -- Bouaketh Chanthavisouk

"The moment when you don't miss anything." -- Andrea Szente

"Following your bliss." -- Kim Fox

"Keepin' it real." -- Susanna Speier

"Selflessness." -- David Bader

"Healthy body + peaceful mind = happiness." -- Sanam Nour

"When you're at peace with the world." -- Pedro E. Thormodsen

"When you don't know what you've done and still you feel delighted ... thats happiness to me." -- Nishant Sinha

"Family." -- Phil Bundy

"The byproduct of living a good life." -- Erica Peterson

"Inner confidence and peace." -- Lisa Simone

"Slice of pie, and no one hassling me." -- Genevieve S. Jenner

"Knowing yourself." -- Dmitry Lambrianov

"Music!" -- Caitlin Tremblay

"Anything you give without expecting any return!" -- Rolando Vargas Soneja

"Pure love." -- Ekaterina Vitkina

"Feeling my chest, my heart space expand with love and excitement for just being in that moment." -- Zen Sensor

"A stack of books." -- Mary Jane Butler

"A smile from the inside out." -- Saundie Isaak

"Liking yourself and not having to explain why." -- Joanne Lawson

"Knowing the difference between what I can and cannot do anything about, and between what is my business and what is not my business and what is not anybody else's business." -- Denise Helberg Snider

"Seeking and becoming my original self." -- Leo O'Mara

"Grace, strength, ease, freedom. -- Ina Sahaja Yoga

"Peace...yes, inner peace. Not having any turmoil in my head." -- Martha Contreras

"A day off, with no hurried plans, and a slice of homemade strawberry rubarb pie, while reading a good book." -- Cynthia Amaro

For more on happiness, click here.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/15/happiness-defined_n_3275054.html

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