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Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have, it depends solely upon what you think.
-Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer.



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I live in Georgia, a beautiful state. We have our fair share of sunny days, mountains, lakes and serene trails. It’s peaceful to walk the trails, to hear the sound of the water falls and to marvel the beauty of the nature.

When I walked over the pathways that follow Anna Ruby falls, a thought flickered through my mind. A flash of truth stared in my face, I felt happiness that came from within. Life stifles without this serenity that we all want regardless of who we are. No worldly possessions or any power is as powerful as this serenity that comes from within.

What is the pathway to the lasting happiness? I realized that the secret lies in front of us staring in the eyes yet we are busy chasing mirage of happiness leaving the true pathway behind.

If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap. If you want happiness for a day — go fishing. If you want happiness for a month — get married. If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else.
-Chinese Proverb

1. Life is an echo:

My life is a reflection of choices I’ve made. I’ve made good choices and bad choices. When I look back, the bad choices were influenced by my egotist behavior. I’ve always failed miserably when I focused solely on the self. I’ve always been blessed to receive what I lacked to achieve my dreams. It’s simply a reflection of my Karma. We deposit gratitude in the life Bank and withdraw blessings. In my early days as an entrepreneur, I’ve had privilege to withdraw blessings that helped shape my life. We all reap what we saw. Make an effort to deposit gratitude by doing something that has no self interest. Everything you do will come back to you.You’ll begin to feel energy and serenity as a result.

2. The more is in less:

I used to buy clothes that I seldom wore, I used to buy books that I seldom read. Soon I realized that I was harboring sense of guilt by the possessions that were seeking my attention. In reality, I was buying on impulse with false hopes of glory that vanished in the guilt every time I looked at that book I never read. Lately, I’ve felt abundance of serenity after possessing less. I’m paying attention to the clothes I ware and books that I read. The more truly is in less.

3. Complaining is stifling:

Long back, I worked as an engineer for a fortune company. I used to focus only on the reports of complaints. After few meetings, Greg, my boss gave me an advice that has changed my life. He asked me to focus more on the solutions than on the problems. His challenge to me was not to see him unless with a complaint, I also had a resolution. Life truly offers answers to all of our complaints if we possess an intrepid mind that seeks answer that lies at the heart of the complaint. It is silly to complain. It is bold to either act to explore the solution from the ocean of difficulties or to forget and move on.

4. Best is always free:

We learn to set goals. We learn to achieve success. We learn to possess expensive cars, a big house and other things monies can buy. Ironically, most precious moments of our life , those that bring happiness beyond our wildest dreams, come from spending time with family, sharing laughter with kids, sharing moments of happiness and tragedies alike with the alter ego, and giving hands to the needy - they all are free. In our desire to find happiness, we get obsessed with spending to buy illusion of happiness. True happiness lies within.

5. Life is now or never:

In the past, I’ve had thoughts of despair, thoughts of self-pity when I looked back and analyzed the result of an action or lack of. We all are humans with our share of mistakes. I felt saddened when my choice of action or lack of turned out against me. I felt ashamed of my failure to choose the right action. I was wrong. Looking back and reflecting on past decisions is wise if you do so with the intent to learn from it but it is wrong if you allow ego to sink in and forget that past is dead. What I have in front is now, not past or tomorrow. I’m content with my life after learning this truth. Enjoy every moment that comes your way. Don’t be fooled by the failures of the past or the promise of tomorrow. Happiness is in content and not in contempt.

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The great blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher and playwright.

Well, I’m almost at the end of the pathway leading to the happiness. Where are you?

Photo by Tommy Simms


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Written by: Shilpan on 2008-05-09 at 5:36 pm
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