Happiness is sought by everyone. I would like to discuss some philosophies that guide people towards happiness.
One school of thought that I completely agree with is that happiness is internal. Too many of us spend too much of our time looking for happiness in external experiences. Some of us link it to our success in our work or love life. Some of us start to find happiness in our material possessions. Too many of us start to link success and happiness to how others perceive us. However any happiness that can be derived from these sources is just ephemeral. It ends as soon as it begins, and then we crave for more of the same to get our next fix and the cycle continues. However true happiness lies inside you. Ancient Indian sages loved the analogy of the Kasturi (Musk) Deer. This deer species famously smells this wonderful fragrance and falls in love with it. They spend their entire life running from one end of the forest to another in search of the source of the fragrance, in vain. The deer do not realise that they themselves are the source of the fragrance. So it seems do humans not realise that they themselves are the source of their own happiness.
Another philosophy is that true happiness is achieved by being content with what we have and where we are, in finding peace. This to me is a very dangerous school of thought, which if it had become popular earlier, humans would not have ventured out of the cave. Human evolution on the zoomed out scale and your personal development and upward social mobility on the zoomed in scale, rests on the promise that you work harder today than yesterday. Put in more hours towards your goal. Which is impossible to do if you are fully content and 'happy' with where you are. You need to have the hunger, the burning desire to work towards a better tomorrow.
Some believe that true happiness is achieved by helping others, by donating time and effort. By performing selfless acts of kindness with no expectations of a reward. Though this is a noble pursuit and no doubt brings a pure form of happiness with it. I have experienced a higher plane of happiness. Tread with caution, because once tasted the other forms seem too bland to enjoy. This happiness is the happiness of hard work, of blood and sweat, of creating something, of discovering something, of knowing that you gave your hundred percent, of not leaving any stone unturned, of not having any regrets, of doing your best, of affecting lives, of changing lives, of making a difference. And then finally looking back at the journey with pride. This is true contentment, this is true happiness.
One school of thought that I completely agree with is that happiness is internal. Too many of us spend too much of our time looking for happiness in external experiences. Some of us link it to our success in our work or love life. Some of us start to find happiness in our material possessions. Too many of us start to link success and happiness to how others perceive us. However any happiness that can be derived from these sources is just ephemeral. It ends as soon as it begins, and then we crave for more of the same to get our next fix and the cycle continues. However true happiness lies inside you. Ancient Indian sages loved the analogy of the Kasturi (Musk) Deer. This deer species famously smells this wonderful fragrance and falls in love with it. They spend their entire life running from one end of the forest to another in search of the source of the fragrance, in vain. The deer do not realise that they themselves are the source of the fragrance. So it seems do humans not realise that they themselves are the source of their own happiness.
Another philosophy is that true happiness is achieved by being content with what we have and where we are, in finding peace. This to me is a very dangerous school of thought, which if it had become popular earlier, humans would not have ventured out of the cave. Human evolution on the zoomed out scale and your personal development and upward social mobility on the zoomed in scale, rests on the promise that you work harder today than yesterday. Put in more hours towards your goal. Which is impossible to do if you are fully content and 'happy' with where you are. You need to have the hunger, the burning desire to work towards a better tomorrow.
Some believe that true happiness is achieved by helping others, by donating time and effort. By performing selfless acts of kindness with no expectations of a reward. Though this is a noble pursuit and no doubt brings a pure form of happiness with it. I have experienced a higher plane of happiness. Tread with caution, because once tasted the other forms seem too bland to enjoy. This happiness is the happiness of hard work, of blood and sweat, of creating something, of discovering something, of knowing that you gave your hundred percent, of not leaving any stone unturned, of not having any regrets, of doing your best, of affecting lives, of changing lives, of making a difference. And then finally looking back at the journey with pride. This is true contentment, this is true happiness.
