What is happiness made up of?
This question may seem trivial, but as far as genuine happiness is concerned, it is the flawless question ever to start with. In our day-to-day life, we perfectly know that something is missing in us. We are the most miserable generation on the planet. Instead of finding out what is missing precisely, many people stare at something which is fictitious. Fictitious religions, for instance, have become refugee camps of despondent people.
I conjecture that the problem is not about happiness itself, but rather about the missing or concealed ingredients of happiness. Anytime, anywhere, one cannot be blissful because he wants to be. In the first place, what is happiness, and what is made up of? This way, if nothing else, one can unravel the constituents of happiness.
If happiness is made up of something which is visible, do we have the right eyes to see it? Happiness has been within us since the day we were born, but unfortunately we go far away in a foreign place to hunt it. Is it that we are blind or do not want to see? Imagine that you happened in a completely dark place! You do not know where you are exactly; your eyes are completely swallowed by darkness. You do not know what is surrounding you. You could be at a top of mountain, on a roof, in a jungle, valley or dark room. What would you do then to come out of this darkness? I guess you would try out all possible options to come out or start to listen your intuition. In such situation, the need to free oneself is enormous. The risk comes along with it, is also enormous. That is exactly the situation in us particularly in this decade. We deadly want to be happy, yet we do not know what happiness is.
I once asked a friend of mine: "What is happiness made up of?" His response was stunning, yet very funny. He said: "Happiness is the addition of what you have; its content is purely a tangible material.'' It seems a simple formula. Mathematically one can add or subtract, and see how much he or she is happy or sad; it may seem ridiculous, though. I have seen this formula working somehow with several people. I have come across a number of people who believe that true happiness is tantamount to money, fortune, position or family. My friend, for instance, whenever he receives money, his happiness, all of a sudden, bubbles up. Money can transform him from a rocky mood to a shining star in our marvelous galaxy. Money seems the driving force behind. This is always the case in capitalist societies.
At the highest level, the above formula manifests itself as hypocrisy. You might have heard people bragging about their success or fortune. It is pointless to show off, but when it comes to false happiness, hypocrisy is the only reliable formula. If you doubt this fact, we can demonstrate it easily. Celebrities, for instance, are the happiest people on earth; they dominate the media and everyone worships them for their fortune. Such publicity and popularity gives them a mighty impression that they are at the top of the world. Little by little, however, life brings them down to reality and in effect their happiness diminishes. Very few celebrities accept that hard truth, whereas the majority resists strongly and thus they overdose themselves with drugs. I call this false happiness in action.
False happiness is precarious or capricious; it is subjected to change soon, and entirely contingent on outside circumstances, such as people, failure, success, money, wealth or family. Sometimes the sky is clear, while at times it is foggy or hazy. That is exactly what happens in our mind when we depend on events. You may wonder what causes precarious marriages, mercurial personality, ephemeral success, transient laughter and many other personal or interpersonal problems. That is what happens when we depend too much on self or collective generated circumstances.
What about true happiness in action?
Here we go. The most vital things in life, such as happiness, love, health and compassion, are free and more real than real. They are easily available to every one of us freely, but once we lose them it is absolutely hard to restore or buy them at a market.
In the world, there are two stories: the story of the rich people and poor ones. The story of rich people is about dearth of happiness, health and love, while the story of poor people is about paucity of money. But who is richer in reality? I guess the poor people because they have the fundamental things at hand. Whatsoever, one should live practically or wisely without fear to maintain the most noble things in life. Take for instance children. Children are either practically happy or sad. You will never find them swaying between happiness and sadness. Children are honest, yet unconsciously; they are completely oblivious of that fact that they are the happiness people in the world.
When one is unconsciously happy like children, everything seems perfect; nothing is missing. On the contrary, when one is thoughtful, everything seems obscure, tough or challenging. Now I wonder if thought is the only problem of happiness. Thought is a heavy storm that can overshadow happiness. Enlightened masters believe that thought makes the mind foggy, and thus one should clean out the mind to embrace thoughtlessness. In other words, thoughtlessness is a symptom of healthy mind and robust body. It is true that when the mind is clear or transparent, we enter into a state of ecstasy. The whole world becomes a field of happiness, love and joy. You should always remember that we cannot seek happiness; we can only protect or maintain it. We were born happy with full of potential to be happier and the happiest. Now the original question changes and becomes: "What are you made up of?"
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