Monday 20 January 2014

What is Real Happiness?




The below Short Story is doing the Rounds on the Net:

‘There was once a Businessman Mr. Richard who was sitting by the Beach in a Small Brazilian Village of Camocim in Ceara State. As he sat, he saw a Brazilian Fisherman Aaron rowing a small Boat towards the Shore having caught quite a few Big Fish.

Mr. Richard was impressed and asked Aaron, “How long does it take you to Catch so many Fish?”

Aaron replied, “Oh, just a Short while.”

“Then why don’t you stay longer at Sea and Catch even more?” Mr. Richard was astonished.

“This is enough to Feed my whole Family,” Aaron said.

Mr. Richard then asked, “So, what do you do for the rest of the Day?”

Aaron replied, “Well, I usually Wake up early in the Morning, go out to Sea and Catch a few Fish, then go back and Play with my Kids. In the Afternoon, I take a Nap with my Wife, and Evening comes, I join my Buddies in the Village for a Drink — we Play Guitar, Sing and Dance throughout the Night.”

Mr. Richard offered a suggestion to Aaron.
“I am a PhD in Business Management. I could help you to become a more Successful Person. From now on, you should spend more time at Sea and try to Catch as many Fish as possible. When you have saved enough Money, you could buy a bigger Boat and Catch even more Fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more Boats, set up your own Company, your own Production Plant for Canned Food and Distribution Network. By then, you will have moved out of this Village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other Branches.”

Aaron continues, “And after that?”

Mr. Richard laughs heartily, “After that, you can live like a King in your own House, and when the Time is Right, you can go Public and Float your Shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be Rich.”

Aaron asks, “And after that?”

Mr. Richard says, “After that, you can finally Retire, you can move to a House by the Fishing Village, wake up early in the Morning, Catch a few Fish, then return Home to Play with Kids, have a nice Afternoon Nap with your Wife, and when Evening comes, you can join your Buddies for a Drink, Play the Guitar, Sing and Dance throughout the Night!”

Aaron was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”

'Happiness' has different meanings for different People. For some, Happiness means Money, for others it means Playing with Children and Family; for others it means getting Name & Fame, for others it means Planting a Small Tree.  

The Term, Happiness, is defined as a Mental or Emotional State of well-being characterized by Positive or pleasant Emotions ranging from Contentment to intense Joy.  

In the present day World, the Happiness Quotient is getting measured by Material Gauge. As People are becoming Richer day-by-day, they are automatically being rated as Happy. But is it really the Fact? Does Richness define Happiness? 

Money can enable you to Feed, Clothe and Shelter yourself. But, once you are able to achieve these, each extra Dollar does not make much of a difference. As-soon-as these Basic necessities are met, Money only boosts Happiness if you have more than your Friends, Relatives, Colleagues and Neighbours. So, there is definitely a limit to which Money can make us Happy.

There is a Term called as ‘Aspiration Gap’. It means the Gap between what People already have and what they aspire to have. To everybody's amazement, Studies have found this Aspirational Gap to be Inversely Proportional to Happiness. It has shown that the Larger the Gap, the less happier People are and vice versa. 

a) This explains why we are never satisfied with our Salary increases. 

b) This explains why our List keeps on becoming Longer, even when we acquire the Goods we desire. 

c) This explains why we are never satisfied and why the Good Life always remains out of our reach.

Some say that Intelligent People are happier. But, Studies have found that Brighter People expect from themselves and are thus dissatisfied with anything less than the Best. So, actually True Happiness has nothing to do with Intelligence or Smartness.

Now, let us just Sit Back and analyse. 

Weren't you Happy when your Kid ran to you lovingly after you came Home after a hard Day of Work?

Weren't you Happy when you saw a small Cute Child Talk in his cutish Language? 

Weren't you Happy when you saw a Sparrow hopped on your Window and was trying to get inside? 


Weren't you Happy when you saw your Nation’s Flag fly high?

Weren't you Happy when you heard your Favourite Song running on the Radio and started humming it? 

Weren't you Happy when your Dog started wagging its Tail when it saw you at a Distance?

Weren't you Happy when you saw a Child help an Old Woman cross the Road? 

Weren't you Happy when your Mother cooked your Favourite Food after you went to your Hometown after a long Time?

Weren't you Happy when you saw a few Droplets of Rain falling on Dry Earth or when you saw a Flock of Birds fly high on the Sky freely?

I bet, you were. 

It has been discovered by many that Happiness is neither a Dream you achieve nor a Place you Visit. Happiness is only Happiness. We get it from small small Things. We can feel and sense it in our Surroundings. 

It is not to be summarized that we should not desire for Good things or aspire for more. In fact we must. That is the rule to Progress in Life. But, we should not attach ourselves to Success or Failure emotionally. Our innate feeling of ‘Happiness’ is much bigger than all this and we should not let such outside Factors dictate our lives. 

Real Happiness is within us and if we keep our Hearts open, we will find it near us and everywhere around us.

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."  

“Happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.”

In the end, Happiness is just a state of mind.

  TW8M5RY3EA99

 Regards,





















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