What makes you happy?

I mean really. What makes a person happy? What causes that chemical/hormone to kick in to create a sense of elation or peace? Why does it go off and why is it different with each and every person? I know for me, it doesn't take too much to make me feel that superficial elation that makes you want to sigh out of pure happiness. Gazebos, old WWI and WWII airplanes, summertime, sprinklers, sandals, parks and playgrounds, the smell of rain and grass, going outside with out a jacket and still feeling warm. We all have these little quirks that give us a sense of happiness, but what makes us truly happy and joyful, and as one might say, successful? I've been thinking about this a lot lately because I spend all of my day doing nothing. I was trying to find a job, but that has been a most unsuccessful search, and now I sit around because there's nothing for me to do: no job, no homework, no social activities, no money; then by the end of the day I realize I did nothing worth my while. Nothing to call home about, nothing to write in my journal about or tell my grand kids one day. And by the end of that day, I don't feel too good. I don't feel like I've accomplished something to make my life worth living. So back to my initial question. What makes one happy? Is it the filling of meaningful activities? Relationships? A purpose?

And this is where my new friend, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, comes in. He is a pioneer in positive psychology, and creator of the term "flow." Flow is a state of concentration or absorption in an activity. Basically, you become completely absorbed in what you are doing; it's so simply natural, interesting, and fun for you that you forget everything else that is going on around you. I like to think that when you read a book you reach into flow because you become so absorbed in the story. Then again, it just might be good writing.
I get this idea from a book I am reading, Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D.. They talk about flow in their book because people with A.D.D. usually need an outlet to get the most of their talents and abilities. Because their book does have somewhat of a focus on children, they talk about finding an outlet for children, to try as many activities as they can so that they have a better chance to succeed. And this theory, I think, also works for adults. Give someone an outlet, and it will improve self-esteem, abilities all around the board, and will be just plain fun.
And why I bring this up, you may ask?
Because happiness is more than the smell of rain or gazebos, its finding a purpose to tie yourself to. It's more than just having fun, but the feeling that you belong to something more than just yourself. So as I sit around bored with nothing for me to do, I can try different activities, maybe with other people as well, to find my sense of flow. So maybe as I said before, I just need to open the gates and sieze the day.