HOW COME, HAPPINESS IS IN WHAT I DON'T HAVE AND NOT IN WHAT I HAVE?

WHAT SHOULD I DO

IN EXCHANGE FOR HAPPINESS

Last week I had been to a Tea estate on the Nilgiri hills. The climate was wonderful. The bungalow was royal. Views were breath taking. Meandering roads look like pythons in the carpet green tea gardens. Green hills in every direction. The place is a heaven on earth. I felt like never wanting to go out of this place. No body can forego such a wonderful place.

I told the estate manager how lucky he is to be living in this wonderful place. He slowly opened his eyes and told me plainly, “For people like you who come for a few days, this place is a paradise. After a few weeks you will get bored. There are no proper schools here and hence my children are in the boarding. To meet somebody I have to go to the managers club about 40 km. away. My wife and I look at each other and wait for the time to pass by. We are happy today because you are here. Any visitor to this place makes our life cheerful.”

For those who don’t have anything, happiness is everywhere. But for those who have everything, happiness is a rare visitor.

HAPPINESS IS HERE

WHERE IS HAPPINESS ?

WHERE ARE WE LOOKING FOR HAPPINESS?

It is here………..just read on.

If the ultimate physical or material happiness is zero (read the article below) the mental or spiritual happiness is boundless. The law of diminishing utility doesn’t apply here at all. If I do something good for a person the happiness remains with me for ever. If I go on doing good to others, the happiness doesn’t decrease like the physical or material happiness.

So what do I get from life? From the material world what I get is zero. I can get to whatever position I want, economic, social or political. But the happiness level will remain zero. Through out my life I was trying for this kind of happiness which ultimately ended in a big zero.

Another interesting thing in life is habits and addictions. They keep me tied up so that I cannot escape. Addiction keeps up the demand and hence gives happiness or in another sense relief. But this can determine the path I take. Even if I am sure of the end, I am unable to save myself . Good habits are like oiling our vehicle. My life runs smooth with good habits. In other words

Life becomes tension free,
a pre-requisite for a happy life-style.

My happiness depends on my spiritual health, the cleanliness of my mind and the good I do for others. This is exactly what God declared to the Jews, the Ten Commandments. He summed up into two rules. First means hope and the second means doing good to others. The Indian philosophy is one step ahead. Thy neighbours include the earth and all its creatures. My happiness depends on my beliefs and what I do for others.

HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD

WHERE IS HAPPINESS

WHERE ARE WE LOOKING FOR HAPPINESS?

Who is the happiest person in the world? That is very difficult to say. At one moment I can be very happy but a few moments later I can be very unhappy. Happiness can come from getting what I expect or getting more than what I expect. Here one thing is certain. The happiness depends on what I expect and not on what I get.

Can I judge the happiness of others? I know what they got and I can calculate their happiness according to what happiness I could have got had I got what others got. I view the world with my mind or outlook. I cannot get into others mind to find out how they feel.

Any material or physical happiness or say pleasure depends on the felt need. The food gives me happiness according to the level of my hunger. The old law of diminishing utility applies in all pleasures. So nobody can get happiness or pleasure through the bodily feelings beyond a certain level. That level is fixed for everybody. Happiness does not depend on my economic, social or physical conditions. The pleasure is directly proposional to the felt need. That brings me to the point that everybody has the same level of happiness.

This means everybody is given a certain level of happiness which comes from the degree of need or sorrow, more the need more the happiness when I get it. More the hunger, more the satisfaction I get from the food. More sorrow, more happiness, less sorrow, less happiness. That means the pluses and minuses in life get neutralized and the ultimate is always zero. Then what should I do in life to get happiness more than the sorrows of my life?

HOW TO HAVE A HAPPY AND MERRY LIFE-STYLE

HAVE A HAPPY AND MERRY LIFE-STYLE

BE HAPPY AND MAKE MERRY

YOU CAN DO IT BECAUSE IT IS WITHIN YOU

When I bought my first cycle I was very happy. The first thing I purchased with my own earnings. Till that time I could easily manage with public transport system. Now I have changed my style. Now I cannot imagine living without a bicycle. I was happy with my bicycle. Then I bought a motor bike. Now I cannot go back to my life-style with a bicycle. A bike has become an integral part of me and I cannot think of me without a bike. Again I changed my life-style and bought a car. Now can I think of me wearing a raincoat and riding a bike in a rainy day? I got accustomed to the comfort of a car. Now can I live without a car. That will be devastating. But there was a time I did not feel the need of a car. Now I cannot go on without a car.

I can get accustomed to any way of life, good or bad, economically low or high. The Indian thinking says if you do anything regularly for 21 days it becomes a habit for you and you become comfortable in the situation. So my happiness depends on by habits. In any situation I can be happy. That is the beauty of life.

When I look at the person who is standing on the roadside with an umbrella waiting for a bus I feel he is suffering. But actually he is accustomed to that way of life and he feels happy when he doesn’t have to wait for too long. There also you can find sorrow and happiness. If the bus comes immediately you are very happy but if it is delayed you become unhappy.

HPPINESS AND SORROW IS EVERYWHERE.
WHAT I GET DEPENDS ON WHICH WAY I LOOK AT THINGS.

If Iam expecting the bus to be late, I will be happy when it comes early and if I expect it to come immediately I am bound to be unhappy when it is late. It all depends on how my mind works. Understanding I can control my sorrows and increase my happiness.

THE CHANGING MOODS OF LIFE

I AM A PUPPET IN THE HANDS OF MY MOODS

A SIMPLE TABLET TO ADJUST YOUR MOODS

How come life is full of ups and downs. Even on a single day there is high and low. Situation can change at any time. Moods can change from second to second. What is happening? Even I find my mood changing without any apparent reason. Read a book and my mood changes. Think of anything and the mood changes. How come I am a puppet in the hands of my moods? Anybody and everybody can change my mood. Even a news item in the news paper can upset me. Every thought can manipulate my mood. I am being thrown around by my moods.

Is it because I am too sentimental? Is there a medicine to remove sentimentality? No, that does not work. The beauty of life is in sentiments. That is the life giving drug. I can never part with it. My temperament only induces feeling into my heart. Life without feeling is like food without taste. So sentimentality has to remain with me. How to get out of the bad moods, blues then?

I pray and my mood changes. I talk to my friends and my mood changes. I understand one thing for sure. My thinking can change my moods. Can I not change my thinking to change my moods? Ah, that looks promising. Change the thinking to get the right mood. Instead of situations changing my moods, I can change my moods according to the situation by adjusting my thinking. That is fantastic. If everything that happens to me is for my good, why should I worry? Enjoy the situation and allow nobody to play with my moods.

HOW COME PEOPLE SAY LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL?

THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION I AM IN

They can neither understand nor even imagine the problems I face

That is true. My problems are mine only. But why can’t others understand me? Nobody seems to understand my feelings. How can they understand? They can understand the situation but not my emotions. Emotions are created according to my thinking.

I remember my football games. When the opposition was strong I enjoyed the game better. Actually I enjoy the way I tackled difficult situations, how I managed to score or how I saved a sure goal. Some slight shadow of brilliance showed by me in a few important matches I still remember. I feel good whenever I think of it.

That is life.

What I enjoy is the way I tackle my difficult situations. To enjoy life in full I may be needing difficult situations. I see to it that they don’t disturb my mind. I think about the best way to handle the situation to my advantage. Every situation has more advantages than disadvantages.

Once I was posted away from my place. I had to make long train journeys both morning and evening. That was tiresome and opposite to what I was accustomed to. But that gave me back my reading habit. That gave me a lot of wonderful friends. After retirement they are still my friends. Everything that happens in my life should be for my good and when I actually think of it, it is true. That is life.

LOOKING FOR HAPPINESS IN FUSTRATION ?

WHERE SHOULD WE LOOK FOR HAPPINESS ?

WHERE DOES HAPPINESS COME FROM?

If it is from outside, we are the pawns in the hands of external forces. Our life will be governed by the outside forces. We have to dance with their tunes. We just cannot be happy when our life is not what we want.

We have to decide what to do with our life.

If we don’t decide, others will decide for us.

If we decide others will follow.

We have a right to say ‘no’ at any given situation. Our actions should not be because of the situation. Our action should be what we want under the situation. That is differtent. We have a right to decide our actions. When we decide our actions we will feel strong and content. Happiness and wellbeing will follow. They come not from outside but from within. The outside world can disturb our body only. Our mind is our possession. Nobody can disturb that without our permission. Dont allow external forces to disturb your mind.