What is it that we, as humans, want in life?

If you ask anyone in the world, 99.99% of people would not say they want to live in a state of pain—whether that pain is physical or emotional.
Pain is clearly the opposite of what we all seek and expect from life.

But then, can we equate the absence of pain and negative emotions with happiness?

A life without unpleasantness is a life of pleasantness, which is close to peace.
But is happiness just a state of pleasantness?
Here, I’m not so interested in the semantics of the word itself, but rather in the state of being that these words attempt to capture.

There’s a transitional state—between something unpleasant and something pleasant—that we often label as “happiness.” But that kind of happiness is illusory and temporary.

It happens all the time.
You’re hungry, maybe even starving, and then you’re served a delicious meal. How long does that feeling of “happiness” last?
Just until you're full and your mind shifts focus.

Or when you're too hot or too cold, you seek the perfect temperature to escape discomfort.
How long does the joy of reaching that balance last?
Even if it lasts a while—is that all there is to life?

Can you consider yourself truly happy simply because you've eliminated unpleasantness?
It's a good starting point—and an important one.

If you don’t have enough money to get through the month, and then you finally do, that’s a real achievement.
We all want pleasantness in our bodies, our minds, and the world around us—but without direction, even that can feel dull.

I noticed this with traveling—one of my greatest passions.
My lifestyle shifted dramatically from working a 9–6 job, where I felt trapped and only had free time in August and at Christmas, to a life where I own my time.
And you know what? It feels amazing. It feels finally right.
As if this was always supposed to be my normal.

So now, you might think—with this freedom to travel and live on my own terms—I must be a happy and fulfilled person, right?
Yes and no.

In one way, this freedom was the first step toward that “happiness.”
It’s my new baseline: the absence of pain.
But if my life were only about traveling and having free time, I would still feel that something is missing.

The secret ingredient, of course, is purpose.
That is, in turn, the Self itself.
Let me explain.

The way to reach fulfillment—which is not a state of overexcitement from the subconscious mind, but a state of true empowerment in alignment with our soul—is by following and enacting our life purpose.

This is a quest driven not by our subconscious mind, which is only concerned with survival, pleasure, pain, safety, and acceptance. No.
This quest is 100% spiritual in nature.

It's driven by our soul.

We all have a purpose here.
I didn’t always believe that.
In fact, for most of my life, I was cynical. I never found my purpose, so I assumed life was random and meaningless.

But over time, I’ve shifted this belief.
I went deep enough into myself—and was lucky enough to have the circumstances that allowed me to do so, to be able to find it—and so I found me.

Some people are born knowing who they are and what fulfills them.
I was not one of them—not in the slightest.

I always had different talents, but no idea what I was really made for.
As an adolescent, the only thing I was certain about was that religion—particularly Catholicism—was utter nonsense to me.
So I avoided that entire realm of spirituality.
Ironically, that’s where I eventually found my purpose.

What I had rejected most strongly ended up pointing me toward what I wasn’t—which helped me realize who I was.
It took me many years of pain, searching, detours through India, meditation, and self-observation to find my way back to myself.
And not through any traditional method.

Anyway, I’m sharing all of this for one simple reason:
If you’re feeling lost, that’s okay.

Your first compass will be your pain.
Follow it.
Adjust your circumstances little by little so that life starts to feel more natural.
Through this process of trial and error, a subtle inner shift will happen.
It will guide your next steps.
There is no other way—it’s an experiential process.
You need to try in order to know.

In my case, my purpose wasn’t something I could find externally, because it wasn’t out there.
I had to go into my pain to understand it.
My path was unconventional—but it brought me back to me.

If I could do it, others can too.
And because I’ve done it—and continue to walk this path—I can share my experience as it might spark something for others.

Why am I saying all of this?
For one simple truth that was hard for me to understand:

The only real gauge you have for knowing where you are on the scale of true happiness and fulfillment is your inner child—
The expression of your soul within your body.

Unless you're highly spiritual and attuned to subtle energies—able to access your soul directly (which, in a way, would already mean you know your purpose)—the only real feedback you have is your connection to your inner child.

Being connected to your inner child means that you understand it—because you cannot feel something that isn't there.
Your inner child is your meter, your compass.
It reflects your connection to your true self—and therefore, to your true level of happiness.

So this journey back to purpose is truly a journey back to the Self—a path of healing, discovery, and alignment with the deepest parts of who we are.