HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE

Right from the time when I was a baby, happiness was the result of certain consequences, from getting a chocolate or a new toy to good grades to new clothes. This was what made me happy and losing any of these gave a sense of grief, pain and sadness.

 

It's been more than a week in hospital room and one day I had a long conversation with my dad, what he kept repeating was that " happiness is a choice not a result" and I like every time kept arguing with him , I was so stuck to the idea that how can one be happy when they don't have anything to be happy for. But hospital loneliness and peacefulness gave me enough to think about it, and after spending hours of reasoning and using my head I just realized " Oh! Man! he was so correct, how can he be so correct every time ?"

 

 

I always have confused happiness with pleasure, though there is a huge difference I get now. Happiness is a lot more than a temporary smile, it is a combination of gratitude, contentment, loving ourselves, making others smile, being at peace mentally, having a positive outlook for everything and appreciating everything. Well. this is want I feel about happiness, everyone has a different concept about happiness and being happy, but the prime requirement is understanding that theory and accomplishing it.

On the other hand pleasure is rather a short term reaction to a situation, one might feel the pleasure of getting a promotion, but if they listen about ill health of any close person that pleasure fades away, but happiness sticks, it is a kind of something , a vibe or a stimulant or something buried deep inside that gives hope and never let's us hate this life.

 

 

The first example of happiness was given by my mom. I guess I was about 4 or 5 years old and we were out in the market and I was crying because my favorite bakery was out of pineapple pastries and then walking a few blocks from there we saw a group of children without their slippers on, laughing, giggling and running after a punctured ball. That's when I got my first lesson about happiness, one can't buy happiness, those kids chose to be happy and so they were, otherwise they had plenty other reasons to cry but they chose what made them smile, made them happy.   

 

 

This was one of those few moments when life reflected that you don't have to be perfect to be happy. There was a time when I used to rush to get everything one wants, to be the best and though it was an illusion but some people wanted a life like me, or the kind of perfectionism I showed. I thought achieving goals will make me happy but that's a lot to say, goals never end. Some things were goals for me few years back but they lost their essence soon after.

 

 

Maybe I never understood what happiness is and went chasing after something that is wrapped in a colorful glitter paper , I don't know what is exactly under that cover. All I know is it is something valuable and worth chasing.

 

 

Thinking deep about happiness made me generate a definition, maybe it is a long-lasting pleasure or pleasure plus purpose. Feeling happy can be defined as a sustainable sense of spiritual contentment that arises from deep within. It is a condition of the heart. It is not giddiness, silliness, or ecstasy. If our happiness would have been dependent on our circumstances I wonder how many people out of the entire population would have been happy.  

 

 

Being happy can actually make life better, in my case happiness provides an unlimited range of positivism which makes me feel good about myself. I feel so connected to the universe and I embrace the challenges life gives, discover the ideas and opportunities in the air which I have to just grab. It gives me courage to try new stuff, gives me energy to push myself harder, gives me mental peace and I radiate warmth and love.

 

After all, life brings certain obstacles that can challenge everything we’ve ever known about being happy. There are times when it is incredibly difficult to find the joy and the light when it feels like everything has been turned upside-down and backwards. In fact, when you’re in the trenches, someone telling you that happiness is a choice may be the last thing you want to hear. But it’s being able to find that spark, that light, that one thing you can hold on to that will allow you to see the good up ahead-lighting the way through the dark. And following that light, knowing that happiness is a possible option, can make all the difference in the world.

 

At this moment I am far away from mental peace and happiness but I am thriving to feel good. Choosing happiness is though but there is nothing that a change of perception and respect for moment can't help with.

 

HAVE A GREAT DAY, XOXO.