Authentic happiness is different to what most people think happiness is.
Realise where authentic happiness lies - within you.
The Illusion Of Happiness
What the world tends to call happiness, and what most people strive for, is a temporary and superficial state of wellbeing. Happiness as most people know it can only come about from things, situations or events being the way they want them to be.
They are happy for a while when things are the way they want. Then after a long or short period of time, the situation changes or the thing that previously made them happy no longer seems to satisfy them as it first did....
...this is the illusion of happiness: that you can obtain permanent happiness from the world of things, and that the ultimate happiness and satisfaction lies at some point in the future.
"Once I get 'this', then I will be happy". "Once I achieve 'that', then I will be happy, then I will have no more worries and I will be ok."...
...you may well achieve or attain these things and be happy for a while, but the pattern of searching for happiness in the future and not being totally satisfied with the now remains in your mind. On an external level things have changed, but internally nothing has changed, so the same patterns will continue to play themselves out. Therefore you will never be permanently satisfied until something changes on the inside, until a consciousness shift occurs.
The ego believes that once things are externally different, then that will allow for final fulfilment or satisfaction. What it fails to see is that external situations are extremely unstable and liable to change at any moment, meaning that this happiness can suddenly turn into unhappiness.
Dependent And Independent Happiness
"I am so happy that I now possess 'this thing'". This thing could be anything - a certain relationship, possession, reputation or occupation. You believe your happiness then depends on this thing. You live in fear of losing it or of it being destroyed, and then when this does happen you feel unhappy. This kind of dependent happiness can not exist without potential for unhappiness. They are the two polarities of the same thing.
Of course you can enjoy your relationships, possessions and your job. You can enjoy every experience. The difference with authentic happiness is that it is not dependent on these things. You will find that the sense of enjoyment flows into whatever you are doing rather than demanding enjoyment from it. If something leaves you or a pleasurable circumstance ends, you can let it go without attaching yourself to it or believing you need it to be happy.
This authentic happiness comes when you have found the permanent amongst the impermanent. The thing that remains the same throughout the play of forms that you call your life. You are that permanence. You are that formless timeless awareness dwelling behind all of your thoughts and emotions, and this awareness is the source of authentic, genuine happiness.
This is much deeper than happiness experienced in the common way. You will notice that after experiencing authentic happiness, what you used to call happiness is actually quite meaningless and shallow.
The deeper feelings of peace and joy come from your natural state of being, as your consciousness becomes free from thought and emotional forms. Let go of the endless chase for satisfaction and realise that you already are the happiness you have been looking for. All that you need is contained within the present moment.