What’s happiness?

It is not easy to define happiness. Individual
preferences overtake each other’s description of the
same.

People often ask: “where do we find happiness?” money,
richness, beauty, coloures, scents, nature etc. all
give us immense pleasure. God has created this
beautiful world only to enchant the occupants. There
is some pleasure, which we can drive without directing
our efforts towards it.

The case of nature is the best
example. The only thing we need is the inclination.
Like the ways to God, the roads to happiness are also
many. To derive pleasure out of one’s life is not
something that comes directly from god. It lies within
us. What we need to rekindle this state of mind is
willingness to think wisely and positively.


The mind is a hotbed of emotions. To have the right
mix of emotions, we need a better actor in us. How to
emote to get the right mix of the mindset is what
matters. Simple things can add colour to our
disenchanted life if we have the time to pause and
think.


Plenty of anything cannot make one happy. But having
this plenty disbursed to the have-nots make us feel
the joy of others.


There were two neighbours. One was rich and the other
the poor. Both were preparing for Diwali. The rich man
decorated his house elaborately and illuminated it
with lights. The poor man only lit a diya at the
entrance of his house.


They were both intimated by god that he would visit
them on New year. The rich man was happy that he had
outdone his neighbour. The poor man was happy that his
diya was glowing in the darkness and that its light
had a divine touch.

Finally, God came to settle their
claims. His attention was first drawn to the single
diya that had lit up an entire dark patch. God was
attracted to this and did not even look at the
brightly-lit house on the other side.

The verdict was
clear. We all yearn for happiness. Having plenty does
not necessarily guarantee happiness. So don’t wait for
heaven to come to you. Make efforts to steer your mind
to a state of happiness by sharing the little you
have. Even a single lamp can cheer up a completely
dark area. Light it and you will find happiness
shining there in your inner self.