The real happiness

A typical placement scenario in a highly reputed institute.

"Hey Ramesh what happened dude, why you looking so sad"

(in a sad tone) "Na nothing yaar, just didn't get the company I wanted"

"But I thought they offered you 6 lac per annum. That is a good salary buddy."

"Yeah that's right...but 6 lac per annum is too low. All others got better salaries than me"

Scene shifts to a nearby slum

"Hey Muthu you look so happy"

Muthu replies in a very ecstatic manner, " O yes I am so happy today...a kind man gave me a packet of biscuits to eat....whew they are soo tasty...especially after being hungry for last two days. Here you too take some."

How many of us can say that a packet of biscuit can brighten up our day. I don't think many among us. But for Muthu, it was a gift straight from heaven. If a packet of biscuit can bring a smile to Muthu, why does having a 6 lac per annum not make Ramesh happy. Why is that we have forgotten to smile? We are so busy running after making more and more money and other material comforts that we have forgotten to enjoy this beautiful creation of nature called life.

Have we ever realized how lucky we are? Well to know that, all we need to do is go for an evening stroll on the beach. You will find atleast 10 children, barely aged around 8 or 9, walking around selling balloons or some food items. Did we do anything even remotely close to this when we were around this age? No. Our parents took us to the beach to enjoy the sunset...not to sell balloons. Then why is that these children have to toil the whole day to barely have 2 square meals a day while we had the luxury to go to school and enjoy a good upbringing?

Has anyone ever tried calculating the probability of a child being born into a family which can barely sustain itself? Well, don't. It will scare the shit out of you. You will realize just how high your chances were to have been another one of those kids selling balloons. But yet here we are having 3 meals a day, enjoying a tension free sleep in our own house, living a life free from all worries such as how to feed the family the next day, what to do when the rain washes off the mud house, how to get some clothes to protect us from the harsh winter and so on.

Why is that inspite of all these luxuries we enjoy, we are still not happy?

Why are we not happy that we got a decent job instead of worrying over the salary. There are millions out there without a job.

Why are we not happy that we live in a rented home rather than keep worrying about owning a bungalow. There are millions out there who doesn't have a roof above their heads.

Why are we not happy for the fact that we are able to afford 3 meals a day rather than worrying over ways to live a King's life. There are millions out there who rarely gets one proper meal a day.

It's because we never had to endure how it feels to be without these luxuries. It's just like an old saying

"You never realise the value of your eyes until you have lost them"

This is not to say that dreaming of a better job, or a better lifestyle is a bad thing. Just that it is not worth sacrificing one's happiness to achieve those dreams. Chase those dreams by all means, just make sure you don't lose your happiness on the way.

To me, real happiness does not lie in trying to worry about how to make more than what we really need, but it lies in bringing a smile to those who are not fortunate enough to lead a life like ours. It need not be spending millions of dollars on charity work. A small act of giving your old clothes to a child, who can ill afford to buy one, is more than enough. The smile this brings on to that face is worth much more than all the money in the world put together. That, for me, is the true meaning of life. Like someone said

"With great power comes great responsibilities"

If we have the power to change something, then let it be to bring a smile to those who never had a reason to smile.