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Happiness is a state of mind

Thursday, April 28, 2005


I have learned from experience that happiness is an acquired skill. There is always something to complain about,
even in the best of times. And there is always something to celebrate, even in the worst of times. Happiness
is not an objective reality so much as a subjective decision. Chronic complainers miss the boat.

Many people are addicted to suffering and have a mental habit of pointing out the worst in people or
situations. Not only are they robbing themselves of joy, but their failure to appreciate all the
goodness that life has to offer actually diminishes that good. Thinking that something
is bad has the power to make it so in our experience.

Many of us could have lived large parts of our lives in wonderful circumstances, but utterly failed to appreciate
how fortunate we have been compared to millions who live in wretched conditions. Reasons to be happy are
everywhere, but somehow most of us don't connect with them. It's like eating without tasting the food. Often,
it takes a series of misfortunes for people to celebrate the good while it's happening, feel grateful for what
are sometimes such simple pleasures. Only then when these pleasures come around, we
life our cup of life to them.

The enlightened ones among us know that happiness is not determined by circumstances. Happiness is not what happens
when everything goes the way we think it should; happiness is what happens when you develop a keen sense of
gratitude for even the smallest pleasures and comfort that many in the world yearn for.

Gratitude is essential to happiness. Developing a grateful attitude - knowing that every time we arrive somewhere safely,
we have something to be happy about; every time our children rush up to us and smile, we have something to be happy
about; everytime we get out of bed and are able to meet the challenges of the day without being hampered by chronic
illnesses, we have something to be happy about - that is the essence of a happy existence.



Written
9:57 am