In Pursuit Of Happiness

I was just thinking today “What do we need to be Happy”?

 While trying to find the answer to this, I figured out that Happiness is a feeling which is inside us, whether we want to find that or not is a separate question altogether. Life gives us enormous opportunity to be happy but I feel that most of us are not apt and skilled enough to grab those opportunity. Rather, we start shooting ourselves with negativities of future and succumb to the unseen painful future while living in present.

 Life has been kind on me, and I am trying to be happy at most of times yet when I am writing this, I am finding it difficult to narrow down on things which can make us happy. I am also wondering why people always tell me “tu hamesha muskurata kaise rehta hai, itna khus kaise rehta hai” (How do you manage to be happy always)…the honest answer is I too do not know and do not realise this unless someone tells me. Still, since someone has asked me to write about this, so I can say few things, but rest assured I am thinking out of my skin to figure this out. 

1. One thing that I think keeps me away from sadness is that I try very hard to not expect much from people. I will not say that I do not expect from people, but there are very few people from whom I expect things in return. What it does is that it gives me freedom to treat people as they are and not put them within certain boundary expecting them to react in a certain way under certain conditions. No expectation No pain.
2. I generally try to be honest to myself. Most of the time when I do something, I ask myself, am I doing the right thing? Will I be happy doing it? And how would I feel after the completion of this? If I get the answer in affirmative I do it, else I keep asking myself until I satisfy myself with either a Yes do it or No, do not go for it.
3. I am never shy of making a fool out of me and generally make a mockery of myself most of the times. What this does is that behind that laughter I myself act as my critics and hence do not get surprised by my short comings, weaknesses etc. As a result I accept myself with my failures and treat it equally with my strength and successes.
4. Last but not the least every night when I go to bed to fold my day; I make myself answerable for everything that I did during my day. After the question answer round, if I feel that I did not hurt anyone, did not cause pain to anyone, I sleep well and it reflects on me the other day.

 Some years back, when someone asked me “what is the greatest achievement of your life?

I replied – The greatest achievement in my life in terms of morality is that, I can bow to someone I did wrong and ask for forgiveness. Besides anything, it flushes my heart and wipes away all the guilt and gives me a clean slate always.