What's Happiness -by Thota Srinivas
We
often wonder as to why we are not happy the way we want ourselves to be. This
is quite natural because we are growing up in a world which revolves around the
urge of doing innumerable things with the primary motive of gaining happiness
.
To
search for happiness in relationships, in the work we do, in the dreams we wish
to achieve, in our hobbies, in our passions, in our liitle acts of kindness, in
material things we accumulate around us, in luxuries we indulge in, in comforts
we long for, in delicacies we relish in, in feelings and emotions we bask in,
in surprises we look forward to, in opportunities to fortune, in words of
motivation, in pieces of information , in expressions of faith and trust, in
songs of love and longing, in vibrations of unconditional affection, in glimpses
of life and recuperation, in the wellbeing of our near and dear ones, in the
content of accomplishment, in beliefs of divinity, in thoughts of
intellect and enlightenment and in everything that we are connected to.
Longing
for happiness isn't a mistake but failing to realize that it is within us and
that it emanates from our thoughts and actions must be considered as a grave
mistake we commit every time we feel we are missing it. As a matter of fact, we
don't have to look for it nor have to gain it, we need to let it bloom
and let it well up from within as it is not a commodity to be obtained
from external sources but a state of mind that is very much a part of our
thinking and perspective.
If
we try to have a clarity as to what stabilizes our mind and what brings peace
to our mind, most of our thoughts revolve around all sorts of material and
worldly things we are or want to get connected to. This happens because since
our childhood we are made to believe that happiness lies in obtaining things we
don't have.
For
instance, a child is made to expect things on his birthday and almost on every
special event or occasion. The primary motive of the parents is to make him
happy as if he is deprived of happiness. The fact is, the parents,
unintentionally, train the child to feel sad and then look for happiness.
Gifting or presenting things is not wrong but what is wrong is the way we try
to feed the concept of happiness by gifting things.
A
child who grows receiving presents and gifts learns to connect happiness with
things he wishes for or he doesn't possess, which means, he feels that it is
right to get disappointed, dejected and depressed in case he doesn't get what
he desires for.
If
only we try to let the children discover happiness within themselves,
their thoughts and their perspectives, we get to see kids blooming into
proactive and assertive individuals with calm and composed disposition never
searching for the genuine emotion called happiness in fake and unreal things
around them.
Life
is unpredictably predictable and uncontrollably controllable ; which means that
what is unpredictable and uncontrollable is beyond our access and reach but
what we have a complete reach and access to can be predicted and controlled.
Children
must be trained to understand the fact that happiness is not just enhanced or
disturbed by what is unpredictable and uncontrollable but happiness can be
maintained completely by exercising a harmonious control over what can be
controlled and what is within our human limits.
For
instance, our birth wasn't in our hands and was uncontrollable by us but our
life is completely controllable and the situations which crop up in our life
because of our involvement and intervention are predictable and are definitely
controllable. Similarly, death is unpredictable and uncontrollable but we still
have a complete control over deciding our life span miraculously. Just because
people ignore this insight, we find them either ruining their lives or
embracing death untimely.
If
and only if we can instil this understanding in the children, wouldn't it be
like bestowing upon them a boon and a miracle of happy life to them. Not even
the accumulated riches and wealth of the entire world would be equivalent to
this insight about life and happiness.
After
all life is but a rolling stone placed on a sliding surface by God but
perturbed and ruffled by hurdles on its surface created only by our ignorance
or subconscious acts.