Saturday, July 26, 2014

HAPPINESS

    We are all looking for one and only one thing, happiness.So what gives us the happiness?I have often said that the real happiness is not out side our mind , but in our own mind.Let us say that I like Pizza and it gives me happiness in eating it . So I think that the pizza is the source of the happiness, But when I start eating the pizza , the happiness that I get from eating the first slice is not the same. So when I eat 10th slice I am about to throw up and not getting the happiness that I got with the first slice . So then the happiness is not in PIZZA but it is in my MIND . This is same for many other things , including having sex or listening to a particular music and so on. So why do we feel the happiness.
      There was a story of a king that had heard when I was growing up.He was unhappy.So many doctors came and gave him different medicines , but it did not help.So the king continued to be unhappy.So then came a doctor. He said to the king that the treatment was simple. The king needed to wear a shirt worn by a HAPPY MAN. So the king sent his guards to all over the city , in search of a happy man . They went searching for the happy man one house at at time . Some one was not happy because he had lost a loved one , some one had broken up with spouse, some one had lost job ans so on and so forth. So at the end of day they ran out of houses to go . So the next day they decided to go to the outside of the city . It was early morning . The Sun was rising and a man was sitting on  the banks of a river on a stone doing nothing.The guards came to him and asked him if he was happy.The man answered YES without any hesitation.So they took him to the king. The king asked him the same question, are you happy. The answer was the same unequivocal yes. So the king asked him to to give him his shirt. The man said ,'I don't have shirt, I don't need one '. No wonder he was happy.So the story that I am  going to tell is story of one such happy man.
         I knew this guy , who worked in the hospital where I went . He worked in a housekeeping. I knew him as I saw him everyday in the hospital . He would say hello and I would respond . Then he knew that I was going to Gym , so then he started giving me advice on the body building. He also started telling me about the diet to 'build' muscles.Sometimes he would ask me about health issues.But not too often . He was planning to retire in next couple of years. He told me how much money he had in retirement plan.It was less than what many doctors make in one or two months.But he was happy and never complained about work or life or for that matter anything.
       One day when I was waiting for elevator, he came out of the elevator and  stopped me . He told me , he needed $100. He had to pay some tax. There was no way I could have said that I don't have it . I gave him the money. He had promised me that he will return the money.I continued to see him off and on in next few months . He never said anything about the money . The amount was too small anyway. Then one day he asked me if I could spare few minutes . He too me to credit union bank ,asked the cashier how much did he have in the account. Then asked her to give me $5.Over period of next year, he did this few times . There was no way for me to keep a track of how much he gave me . I am sure that he did give me all $100.I have talked to him after that sometimes Same talks ,same happy attitude, never sad face or complaints. Never asked me for any money.He retired and started doing part time work. This a guy, who had hardly any money, needed $100,but had conscious to return it, and was still very happy. And I see every day people , doctors , who have 10 times more money and are still unhappy .So the happiness is state of mind and not dependent on amount of money that one has nor on any external sources. 

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