On the Way to Happiness - Essay Example

A Path to Happiness Introduction As charity begins from home, path to happiness starts from self. Takingcare of our own body is the first step in this direction. This means that we should eat properly, keep our body clean, while looking after our teeth. We need to take care of ourselves when we are ill. Meditation and rest is very important to keep ourselves happy. The second step in the direction of path to happiness is helping people around us to maintain a healthy environment. This can be achieved when every one of us is aware of our duties towards self and the environment. Loud thinking about the reasons that are responsible for blocking our happiness is a way to analyze and find solutions to the related issues. Our emotions are manageable once we know the technique of controlling them. However, there are many instances, where the situation is out of our control. We may not be able to manage emotions of others, yet we can retain the calm by managing things, which are under our control. Anger does not lead to happiness, as patience and temperate behavior certainly gives us joy. Nevertheless, the real path to happiness is through control of our own expectations. Most of the things that we strive for may not be available to us and it makes us sad when we do not get what we had expected. However, an unexpected gain or event that suits us gives profound joy and happiness. Am I a happy person? A child starts confronting the complex challenges of life immediately after the birth. Simple cravings like hunger for milk feed and relief from pain makes the child unhappy. The journey towards seeking a path to happiness starts there and then. However, this does not mean that all human beings are sad. Nevertheless, certainly, every one of us is a seeker of happiness. It will be a false statement if I pronounce that I am always a happy person. Analyzing my life experience and challenging moments of my life, I certainly can say that I am a happy person, overall, although I have seen tougher times that made me sad. My analysis shows that the key for me to remain happy relates to my habits, thinking and lifestyle. In this direction, I am following the following principals that keep me away from sadness. Thinking about the present While our past has gone, we do not know about our future. There is no point in worrying what will happen weeks, months or years after. By tackling issues that confront us currently, we can make our lives simpler. This will certainly lead us to a happy and meaningful existence. Living in the present gives us an opportunity to help others, as past and future worries do not haunt us. However, wise people learn from their past mistakes. Therefore, analysis our actions of the past few months and years puts us on a correcting path that can lead us to happiness. The key is the positive learning instead of negative nagging about our past actions. (Joe) Positive thinking and attitude As we all know, “satisfaction is the end of life”. This means that we are satisfied if we do not expect much from our life. However, then we loose the purpose of living. At the same time, expectations are the root cause of our miseries. Therefore, we need to relate expectations with our surroundings, environment and overall life pattern. Expecting something that is not achievable will certainly make us sad always, while setting our clear goals, which we can achieve, would make us happy. Hence, I make my New Year resolutions, which reflect my ambitions, expectations and most importantly, they are achievable. For example, expecting that our loved parents should never die is something beyond our control. Similarly, setting a target that seeks five-fold increase in our salary over the next year is not feasible. This would bring misery instead of joy to us. Positive thinking helps us in tackling challenges during difficult phases of life, with calm and patience.(joe) Our thinking and belief makes us what we are Worrying about the outcome of our action may not always help us in our search for happiness. For example, thinking about the children and their future, after my death will always haunt me and make me sad, as I have no way to witness their life after I die. Such negative thinking will never make us happy. Similarly, the belief that my certain action will make my dearest friend unhappy is not a solid reason to worry. Instead, analyzing my action and finally thinking and belief that the same will make my friend happy is a positive feeling, which makes me happy. However, we should never act in a manner that can hurt the emotions of other people surrounding us.(Joe) Things that make me happy during sad phase It is a fact that nobody can remain in total bliss, lifelong. Thinking or believing that is just like living in a fool’s paradise. However, many things can lift our mood during a sad phase. I resort to the following when I am sad, for feeling happy. Analyzing the problems I would like to write down all those issues, which I am tackling during period of sadness, while searching for the cause of my sadness. Once I reach to a result that relates my sadness to its cause, I will take action for rectifying the underlying problem. The most important part in this exercise is to set achievable goals. I would like to review periodically my action towards the direction of achieving my set aims. I will correct my mistake, when I find the same, while doing this exercise. The results always prove satisfying for me. Exercising Sadness and happiness are states of mind. When I am sad, I would like to divert my mind from such condition through exercise. Walking remains my favorite remedy to keep away from sadness. As I firmly believe in positive thinking, I believe that the sad phase will go away with the passage of time. Nothing is constant here. Jogging, cycling and swimming are other forms of exercise, which help us in lifting our mood during a sad phase. Gratitude and forgiveness These two terms are related to each other. We certainly feel immense satisfaction when we forgive the other person. The emotional gratitude, which results from such forgiveness, will certainly take us away from sadness, towards happy state of mind. However, there is another term that has relation with these two words. It is ‘revenge’. A person who has the feeling of revenge can never forgive. In addition, revenge does not bring the feeling of gratitude in other person. Hence, I would like to follow the policy of ‘forgive and forget’, if the cause of my sadness relates to the action of another person. Reading Reading proves to be a real stimulant for my mind, whenever I am sad. In addition, I would like to find books and other relevant material that could throw light on the cause of my sadness. Books and other internet content about positive thinking take me out of my sad phase, which in any case will go away, along with the time. (Shalman) My personal experience for lifting my sad mood This is something personal. However, I would like to share this experience with others, as the results of such sharing will bring me closer to happiness. I am born Christian with full faith in God. However, my faith was shattered a bit, when my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, about five years back. My mother could not take the bad news and suffered a heart stroke. My elder brother was busy in making things easier for our parents, thanks to his positive attitude towards life. Looking at misery of my parents, I felt immensely sad. However, I never wanted to add more pain to my parent’s woes by simply sobbing over the sudden development. I resolved to read extensively about the disease. This resulted in convening my father for taking another medical opinion and screening test. The second doctor proved a boon for us, as he gave us hope of the illness being curable, with modern medicine and technology. My continuous support to my parents, with positive attitude towards this problem brought us relief, after a prolonged battle. My positive thinking and faith in God helped me to remain away from sadness, during this phase. I was engaged in activities that could help my parents to fight the challenge, while they gave me a chance to hope for the best. As I remember now, this positive aptitude was the sole instrument of my coming out of sad mood, many times during those sad days. My tips to others about happiness According to Buddhist philosophy, happiness is the state of mind. While ordinary happiness is related to the organs of body, it never lasts forever. For example, people wishing to look at a glamorous or amorous image will feel happy, after going through porn-related visuals. However, the state of such happiness will vanish, once they finish with their visual flings. Buddha says that true happiness is not dependant on any object like eye, ear or tongue. The true happiness comes from proper cultivation of mental discipline. This results from control of our emotions for liking or disliking certain things. Once, this state of mind is reached, Buddha says, we become truly happy.(O’Brien) In addition, there are other moral concepts that take us to the path of happiness. Moderate behavior It is essential to refrain from taking drug s or excess use of alcohol. Most of us believe that taking drugs or other addictive substances can reduce our sadness. However, the fact is reverse of this. We are in the state of deep illusion, during our drug sessions, which keeps away the real state of mind from our own self. Once out of influence of drug or alcohol, the sad mood again emerges, compelling us to take drugs again. The addiction leads us to deeper sadness. Driving after intake of alcohol can result in accident, which will add to our suffering. (Happiness) Loving children brings immense joy Raising a family is a skill, which when explored correctly can give deep satisfaction and happiness. Parents, who let their children grow on their own, believe that the mental and physical growth of the children will guide them through the challenges of life. However, looking at case histories of criminals, we can conclude that this is not correct. Parents need to guide their offsprings with, love emotion and care. While it pays being a friend to the growing children, the joy is reflected in their eyes, when the parents counsel them on matters that relate to their growth. For example, a growing girl has to fight mental trauma as she enters her puberty. Mother can treat her as a friend, while disclosing the natural developments that take place during such period. The girl can happily go through this stage, after she is satisfied with mother’s love, care and counseling. This satisfaction brings immense joy to the mother. Respecting beliefs of others Most of us are believers. However, the path to God is revealed in diverse ways through different religions. If a person is intolerant to the religious beliefs of other people, the result would be the impending sadness, as mental tension due to such conflict will heighten the person’s suffering. Hence, believing and understanding the viewpoint of others is essential to maintain clam and peace. In fact, most of the times, discussing different religious beliefs take people out of the sad state of mind towards happiness. (Happiness) Conclusion Happiness cannot be pursued, it happens with the right attitude to life. Positive thinking, having no grudge towards other people, harboring no revengeful thoughts would bring happiness automatically. People seeking happiness need to remain calm and composed, without showing any trace of anger. Happiness, being a state of mind, requires the seeker to remain free of any emotions that create mental tension. Following true moral concepts like temperate behavior, love for others and entertaining no criminal thoughts certainly will help us in our path to happiness. Works Cited “HAPPINESS” .The way to Happiness. nd, Web. 29 Nov. 2013. Joe. “Using Positive Thinking and a Positive Attitude to Manifest Happiness.” Positivity Shakeoffthegrid.com, 01 May 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. O’Brien, Barbara “The Buddha’s Path to Happiness” Buddhism, nd. Web. 29 Nov. 2013 Shalman, Alex. “10 Simple Ways to Overcome Depression and Sadness”. Tips for life, March 10, 2009. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. Read More