Who doesn’t long for happiness?
All of us do.
Some see happiness in the promise of a raise or in the winnings
of the lottery. Some fancy a new wardrobe, others a shiny Tesla. Some visualize
traveling to distant shores. Some dream of finding the perfect mate who will shower
them with everlasting happiness.
Some do indeed reach their goal.
But how long did their happiness last?
Maybe higher costs sapped their raise? And the lottery funds?
Were they gone within the year? A new wardrobe’s novelty is bound to fade in
time, and so does the newness of a Tesla. Our travels to distant shores may bring
us joy galore, but eventually we’ll be home again.
What then?
Maybe the perfect mate is the answer. Yet life is like a river,
it keeps rolling along, keeps changing, is unpredictable. Can you maintain your
happiness and make it last throughout the ups and downs of daily life?
The answer may lie in the essence of happiness.
Happiness is something personal. It is something that we
ourselves create — that we plant and cherish deep within ourselves. We cannot
find it in the outside world. Only when we enshrine it in our heart and soul can
we be masters of our happiness and sustain it.
It may be an arduous task to rid our mind of all that is
incompatible with happiness. Feelings
of hatred and revenge are its archenemy. Nor can we acquiesce to jealousy or being
fraught with desire. Happiness withers when exposed to mean and petty thoughts,
just as temper and impatience gnaw at its foundation.
When we have shed these odious burdens, happiness will
quietly take root and blossom.
What then is happiness?
Happiness is being grateful for being alive, for
appreciating what we have. Happiness
is being content with our lot, and accepting our friends and relations the way
they are, with all their faults and all their blemishes—we have them too.
Happiness is accepting ourselves. When we do, we can love
and accept anyone else.
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