Over the years I have tried in vain to formulate happiness , I am aware of the fact that it is not quantifiable but then I always wonder how is one happier than other . Surely there has to be a formula for happiness , being an engineer I wanted to develop some kind of relation of various factors of life to happiness , to be able to derive some sort of relation of happiness to other aspects of life .
So on a recent evening with my friends I asked them what did they think affected the amount of happiness in our life ...
Most of them thought it was money .. some even had the atrocity of saying "Money can buy happiness" . Days after that evening my mind kept going round and round on that topic but it was one rainy evening that I got my answer . I was stuck in a mile long traffic jam with heavy rain pour thinking 'Now this is great I finally get out of office on time and here I am stuck in traffic ' while my mind was busy creating my usual day to day to do list , I saw two woman come out of an IT company , they looked like cleaners or maid .They had no umbrella and were completely drenched , they casually lifted there sarees upto knees and with childlike delight and glee on there face crossed the road with complete ease . Just looking at them I could feel the happiness they did , as they crossed their road my gaze followed them but soon moved to a woman dressed in business suit with a Nautica umbrella , high heels and laptop bag . She looked like a top executive from one of the neighbouring IT company , a woman who had everything in control and obviously flourishing financially . Although her complete personality resonated elegance her face showed irritation and anger on the sudden downpour . She looked unhappy with the unannounced rain and looked very impatient until finally she got into her chauffer driven car . The contrasting reaction of two woman both from different streams of life gave me the answer money can definitely not buy us happiness . It may be able to provide for our basic amenties or luxuries but it can takes away a lot in return . It snatches away our capability to enjoy in the natural joys of life , it does gives us a taste of finer things in life but also deprives us to feel the childlike joy which is priceless .
So coming back to my question "What are factors that affect happiness ? "
So on a recent evening with my friends I asked them what did they think affected the amount of happiness in our life ...
Most of them thought it was money .. some even had the atrocity of saying "Money can buy happiness" . Days after that evening my mind kept going round and round on that topic but it was one rainy evening that I got my answer . I was stuck in a mile long traffic jam with heavy rain pour thinking 'Now this is great I finally get out of office on time and here I am stuck in traffic ' while my mind was busy creating my usual day to day to do list , I saw two woman come out of an IT company , they looked like cleaners or maid .They had no umbrella and were completely drenched , they casually lifted there sarees upto knees and with childlike delight and glee on there face crossed the road with complete ease . Just looking at them I could feel the happiness they did , as they crossed their road my gaze followed them but soon moved to a woman dressed in business suit with a Nautica umbrella , high heels and laptop bag . She looked like a top executive from one of the neighbouring IT company , a woman who had everything in control and obviously flourishing financially . Although her complete personality resonated elegance her face showed irritation and anger on the sudden downpour . She looked unhappy with the unannounced rain and looked very impatient until finally she got into her chauffer driven car . The contrasting reaction of two woman both from different streams of life gave me the answer money can definitely not buy us happiness . It may be able to provide for our basic amenties or luxuries but it can takes away a lot in return . It snatches away our capability to enjoy in the natural joys of life , it does gives us a taste of finer things in life but also deprives us to feel the childlike joy which is priceless .
So coming back to my question "What are factors that affect happiness ? "
Happiness means different things to different people. To everyone, their own. In my experience, to the majority, Money does provide short term happiness, over a longer duration its like selling ur soul to the devil. What i've learnt in life is that true happiness comes from within. We look for happiness outside but we never find it. Our spouse, our kids, our parents, all are r right here, but if we still seek happiness is coz although our family is the single biggest source of happiness, but only if we feel happy about them from inside. Happiness comes with gratitude, towards what we already have. People who look for happiness outside tend to pursue it all their life n yet attain it temporarily every now n then: success, money, physical n emotional satisfaction, food, experience, all give temporary happiness. True n long lasting happiness is not in pursuing what makes u happy, it is in being grateful to the One above, the Giver, for what we already have n cherishing it. I hope this made some sense to u. This is my opinion n understanding of life n the pursuit of happiness. In ur experience, the women who were happy in the rain were so coz they were grateful irrespective of how convenient or inconvenient the rain was for them. They chose to be happy n enjoyed the experience. The lady who was not happy was coz she was not grateful. She chose to be upset with what she had coz she was busy pursuing things she didnt have n was upset that the rain was an inconvenience, an obstacle in her pursuit. We're all born happy. Ask a child how happy he is sitting half naked playing with nothing more than the mud n dirt on the ground. As we grow older we start pursuing things outside ourselves to seek n attain happiness. The stronger we strive the more unhappy we become between those temporary moments of fake happiness we achieve every now n then.
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