Pursuit Of Happiness
It sounds inspiring, beautiful, even sentimental; “the pursuit if happinessâ€. What is happiness though----a dream that we chase or a real thing. In the commercial world that we live in, it’s often associated with ownership--of more products, bigger houses, fancy cars, etc. We all chase for these smaller and bigger products in the pursuit of Happiness. Based on how much stuff we own and are capable of owning, we should be the happiest people on Earth. But the question is , are we? The survey released by the University of Michigan's World Values Surveys (WVS) showed that US ranked 16th in the ranking of worlds’ “happiest†countries behind Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico. None of these countries come to my mind when I think of wealth and abundance.
The definition of happiness is obviously different in different decades of our lives. The most innocent and carefree happiness is in the childhood---kids just seem to have it so naturally and easily. How do we then forget to be in touch with it as we grow up? As a student, the happiness may be in what our scores are and which school or college we are able to get in. As a young adult, we start getting restless with what we need to own to feel happy. The key is to end that cycle of owning more stuff and realizing that what we are looking for does not exist outside of us. Happiness is not in the new pair of shoes or that brand name dress or even that cool car we have been thinking about for years. It is right here hidden within us, like a pearl in a shell. The trick is to open our hearts and get the gem out. Abraham Lincoln said that “People are just as happy as they make up their mind to be.†So, make up your mind and choose to be happy today.
Yes, that smile looks beautiful on you. 😊
Written by Ritu Kapur.
Ritu is the owner of Sohum Yoga and Meditation Studio in Westborough. You are welcome to join Ritu for one of the yoga classes, See her schedule at www.SOHUM.org She can be reached at Ritu.Kapur@Sohum.org
|
