ELUSIVE HAPPINESS

Somebody asked me yesterday if I am happy in my work, home and generally, my life. It made me think.

What is happiness? I was browsing a card section at a bookstore sometime ago and in one card, I have read these sentences, “…what is happiness anyway but a figment of one’s imagination…” and it goes on to say that as long as people follow their heart, they will arrive nowhere but in the arms of the one they love. I felt sad for the writer of the message in that card and for all those people who believe that happiness is just an idea that the overwrought human brain has cooked up for lack of something better to do.

Happiness is a hidden treasure that the Maker has planted to each one of us a desire for it and one of the greatest journies that mankind has embarked on since the dawn of time is to find it. Different people have taken different roads and tunnels in search of true happiness. Some took the road of riches and comfort and I do not know if they were able to find happiness in the end. I have once read an article where the writer quoted John Lennon saying, “If I could only find out who I am, I would be happy.” And then the same author quoted another man of immense wealth and fame saying that if he can have a little bit more than he already has, he would be happy. That doesn’t say much about wealth, comfort and fame as a source of happiness. Some took the road of drugs, and all sorts of substances and I believe they have not found happiness except for the transient high or illusion of wellbeing that they feel for a few moments then again they succumb to loneliness. Some took the road of marriage thinking that having a family to call their own will give them the fulfillment that they have been searching for all their lives and I believe there is a measure of happiness there. Some engross themselves in their work and some must have found happiness there too although a few people I know would like to escape their work no matter how high-paying a job it is. That does not testify to being happy, I supposed. They are still searching for happiness. A few took the road of service and when you ask these people, you will get the most positive answers from them. So it seemed to me that people who are serving others are probably the most happy. I can’t help but be reminded of a rhyme I learned in first grade that goes like this:

The time to be happy is now

The place to be happy is here

And the way to be happy

Is to make others happy

And to build a little heaven down here.