An Ode to Happiness.

“Happiness doesn’t depend on what we have, but it does depend on how we feel towards what we have. We can be happy with little and miserable with much.”- William D. Hoard.
Friends, yesterday on 20th March, the world observed International Day of Happiness. It was started by the United Nations in the year 2013, dedicated to the importance of happiness in people’s life. The emphasis should be on Gross Domestic Happiness instead of Gross Domestic Products. This year’s theme is, happiness for all and forever.

For the last one year the world is no longer the same again due to on slaught of Corona Virus. The all encompassing environment of scare due to the dreadful microorganisms is so rampant that we have almost forgotten the definition of happiness. The laughing out loud has become a luxury.

Life cannot go on, under the perpetual shadow of the relentless virus. We must learn to fend it off and simultaneously draw as much happiness from our mundane lives as we could. Life is too precious to be squandered at the altar of fear.

When we were kids, the collected raw mangoes underneath the mango tree after a storm or a plucked guava from the impossibly high branch of a guava tree, used to send us into pure ecstasy. Are we capable of feeling such frenzied and unadulterated joy now? Most probably not. Because our lives have become too mechanized and technology driven now, that we fail to draw happiness from the trifling incidents in our lives. We always seem to wait for something colossal to happen to make us happy.

For example, as a young couple we bought our new refrigerator. Sadly, we had to remain without electricity for two days due to some transformer crisis, after the fridge had arrived. The power was eventually restored at midnight, we almost jumped out of bed to switch on the refrigerator. I still remember those excruciating moment for the ice to set in the tray for the fist time. When it did, we almost danced in happiness! Those ice cubes were like precious treasure we had unearthed!Afterwards….. so many new refrigerators replaced the older one, but it always failed to raise any enthusiasm in us as it did then.

We must all strive to find happiness  from what we call as our daily lives. It might be from plucking fresh veggies from the tiny kitchen garden or growing flowers in the balcony, listening good soulful music or spending quality time with our loved ones. We must try to feel genuine happiness instead of showing it off to the world through our social media updates. The happiness is not a contest to be won, it’s the contentment to be treasured and cherished.

Friend, let’s all make an effort to raise the happiness index in our lives, stop fretting over what we fail to achieve and be gratified for what we have now. It doesn’t mean that we stop dreaming for the sky, yet shouldn’t be frantic to fulfill our ambitions and desires at the expense of happiness and peace of mind.

Wish you all happiness, peace, contentment and health.
Adieu for now.

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