The quest for happiness

There is an old story about a king who wanted to be really happy. He felt that he was unhappy and decided that he would go anywhere and do anything to acquire happiness. Accordingly, he consulted many people and one wise man told him that if he could get the shirt of a happy man to wear for a day he would become really happy himself. So the king started searching for a happy man. He met many persons and asked each of them if they were happy, so that he could borrow the shirt of the happiest man for a day. However, he could find not a single man who would confess to be happy. At last after a long search, the king passed by a lonely place where from a distance he saw a man singing loudly to himself. The king decided that he must be really happy. He was really happy but when the king went up to him to ask for his shirt, he found that the man had no shirt at all to wear. He was too poor to have a shirt on his body. So it transpired on the king that true happiness does not consist of possessing luxuries of life. Happiness is really a state of mind; it does not come with objects which give pleasure. We actually see that people who possess a great many luxuries of life are still unhappy. Happiness comes from satisfaction and content and if a person does not feel satisfied he will not be happy once may be rich but if his riches do not make him contented he will never be happy if he is just able to satisfy his bare needs of life while another will not be happy even if he is rolling in wealth. It is because the former is contented while the latter is not. Contentment therefore is a necessary condition for happiness. Education in the true sense of the word, will contribute to one’s happiness. A truly educated man will learn to see things in their proper perspective. He knows which things in the world are of importance and which are the things to which no importance should be attached. He will be able to derive happiness from a number of things around him and he will not allow unimportant things to ruffle his lamer or disturb his peace of kind. He will also be able to see things from other people’s point of view and thus understand them. This will save him a great deal of mental-suffering and irritation and contribute to his happiness. A very important source of happiness is good health. To be healthy is a great blessing and therefore health and physical well-being spell happiness. Without health of the body, happiness will be difficult to find. To be employed in the work which really interests you is also a source of happiness. To be able to do means to be happy. Engage yourself in activities. Which really interest you and it will contribute to your happiness. Do well to others and you will drive mental satisfaction from it. When a man does a favour to another he not only makes the other person happy but he also adds to his own happiness. Misfortunes come in every body’s life and they rob a person of happiness. However, there is no misfortune so great that you cannot find somebody else’s misfortune greater than yours. If we only look at others less fortunate than we are, at the people whose troubles and sufferings are greater than ours, we shall be able to forget our miseries or at least to bear them with fortitude. This too is a secret of happiness. Lastly we may observe that proyers are a great source of strength and mental peace. Prayers bring peace to troubles spirits and raise man to lofty heights of happiness.]]>