“There is no path to Happiness; happiness is the path”. – Buddha
A beautiful day and a cup of coffee in hand, the best time for Ashna to spend with herself. She was a professional working in a big multinational company with a five-figure salary, a luxurious lifestyle and all that she could think about. She always made sure to spend at least 10 minutes of the day with herself “me time”. A scant thing to find in the busy modern life.
Ashna always made herself grounded and consciously made efforts to do it. She remained cheerful and humble to whoever she met. She had struggled hard to reach the position where she stood today. The wavering graph of her life taught many lessons which no one could have ever imparted. There were times when she doubted herself in decisions of her personal and professional life, but her intuitive guts always stood by her side. A rising middle class family and struggles of growing in it, she learnt to never succumb to those circumstances. She knew that determination and hard work can only pave the way to rise and shine. The hardships of life are always tough to handle but never she left her smile in those times. The determination to succeed was her mantra of self-motivation. Happiness was always the core strength of it. “Happiness lies within”, a belief that she believed in. A short statement with depth.
We all want happiness in our life, and like a treasure hunt we all chase for it. Looking for the cues in the form of materialistic things, situations, or people. A rat race of a search for big things that may give us joy. The more conditional we make it, the more difficult it is to trace and that too for a very short duration. The real joys of laughter, togetherness, and peace within it have become endangered. The levels of anxiety, isolation, sadness, and mood swings are elevated, and a tendency of fixating oneself with the bitter experiences of past and caging in the fears of future is at rise.
Ashna also faced challenges, her life journey was no different, ups and downs were partners in the voyage of her being. But she never left the string of hope. The ship of life is always accompanied with adventures, feats, and flukes. . Nothing remains forever neither the problems nor the situations but our memories and experiences stay. They are for a lifetime, the learnings from our downfall and little success at different steps remain eternal. Happiness is a feeling of contentment and awareness. Awareness, a conscious state of mind for remaining calm and peaceful in rough patches; an effort to find the small cues in the bits of everyday life.
A conscious thought of energising everyday as blissful to gain some experiences and memories, manifesting positivity in day-to-day transactions. Spending some time with one self and introspecting one’s own thoughts stabilises the emotions and anchors one back in the present. “A present is a present”, is rightly said by someone. Everyday is a day to move ahead with more confidence and energy. Tracing the joys is completely our possession and is more gratifying.
‘Gratitude” is another way to feel the joys in small things. A gesture of thankfulness has a magnetic charisma. It always attracts positive vibes and blessings from high power. One can stay happy or find it with little things, it is just about the mindset that we have. Real happiness is about contentment, fulfilment, peace with self and optimism. Happiness is not a euphoric state but a sense of compassion and a purpose in life. A feeling of satisfaction and positivity from within.
Life is always a curved path. There will be times of distress, painful relationships, and many unexpected situations, that disillusions everything in life. But if we realise that it is just a mirage and not reality, we can soon find the key to the treasure of happiness. Problems are like companions in the ship of life and keep popping up like water bubbles. When we bring acceptance of something or someone that is bothering us, we feel positive.
A state of unhappiness, is keeping ourselves deprived of love and self care. Happiness is in abundance, it is just that we overlook it and try to find it outside. The way we respond to life situations is decisive for our happiness. Just like a tree that keeps on shedding the old leaves and blooms with full beauty from time to time, is an example for all of us to learn. So let is Live our life in the present moment and shed out the traces of the past (cluttered within) to create a beautiful present and future.
“Happiness is not something readymade. it comes from your own actions”. – Dalai Lama