What causes happiness to only be temporary?

Question

Why does the novelty run out of things that we treasure?

Answer 1

life is only exciting when you keep things fresh.

Answer 2

Happiness that comes from material possessions will never last. We must have inner peace in order to find joy in life. Only God can give us that joy.

Getting something, the thrill of the chase, is what we crave. Once we have won the chase, the excitement is gone. Have you ever watched someone bidding on e-bay? See the fun and happiness when they place the final bid, and win? The thrill of winning is better than the new item.

King Solomon, probably the richest man that ever lived said:
Ecclesiastes 5:10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

All his material possessions didn't give him the joy he expected them to give to him. He was disappointed.

Answer 3

We can talk about the chemicals that make us feel high when happy. Look up endorphins.

The Bhakti Yoga perspective is that we are a fish out of water. We are in a temporal existence and so are not completely happy with the enjoyments available on this mundane platform.

Answer 4

The clue is in your sentence - we treasure "things." Things or other people or money don't bring us happiness. Happiness is a state of being that can only be achieved when we let go of our need for external stimuli that we've come to believe "make" us happy.

Answer 5

I think we are taught that happiness is a luxury when it should be a birthright. To me, happiness is not bliss, it's is content. It is a feeling of loving and being loved. It is grace and gratitude, not ecstasy. I think elation and that kind of heightened euphoria is never meant to last. It is a moment that defines the gap between the dark and the light in your life and life wouldn't be worth living if it didn't contain those extremes.

Answer 6

treasure? what? happiness via materials of course that's temporary.

happiness is inside. ( i know blah blah blah ) but i'm not talking like those hurly curly freaks all sunshine and flowers...

deep inside... find it, it's there always.

no novelty, no tangible grabby feeling things... just bliss.

:D

and you don't need religion, toys or an excuse.

Answer 7

Happiness is only temporary because the cause of happiness is temporary... people who get happy over little things will be sad over little things... vice versa..

Answer 8

Because we never really treasured them. You treasure your children if you have any would that run out.

Answer 9

I am a firm believer in self happiness. You CHOOSE to be happy... just like you CHOOSE to be mad. Try finding the simple things in life to make you happy. Happiness is a choice that we allow ourselves to have. Embrace it, and you don't have to let it go!

Answer 10

our humanity is the cause.
it's truly a shame that our heart cannot live apart from the mind, or else we'd be free from this curse. Had we solely heart, we would never know but one side to life: love. aka pure bliss.

Answer 11

we have to put effort in to constantly changing things up to keep it new. we also have expectations on people and situations to make us feel good, excited, happy, fulfilled...so on; instead of expectations, we should be accepting people and situations and things for the way they are instead of expecting or changing them. it's also the way we think that can make us feel certain ways; so if we are thinking negatively, unrealistically, we get ourselves to feel frustrated, depressed, discouraged, worthless, and this list can go on. in changing our own thought patterns, we can change the way we feel.