Creating Happiness In Life

Distinguishing the real and the make-believe

- Shri C.K Subramaniam

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, what you do are in harmony," said Mahatma Gandhi. The purpose of our life is not only to make ourselves happy but also to make others happy. Life is all about creating happiness.

Happiness is a state of our mind and we, ourselves, are responsible for our happiness or unhappiness. If we expect others to make us happy, we will always be disappointed. Happiness is and will, always, be the most cherished, yet most elusive, of all human desires. Day in and day out, we search for happiness, but at the end of the day, we find ourselves empty handed. "Happiness is not something available readymade. It is created by ourselves from our actions," says the Dalai Lama.

People who are truly happy are so because they try to be happy, no matter what situation comes. They cope effectively with bad times and make the best use of their good times. Every experience they have in life, whether positive or negative, presents them an opportunity to grow. They tend to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. In our day-today life, we observe that when our desires or wishes are fulfilled, we become happy for some time but happiness fades away after a short period.

Many times unhappiness is caused by the fear that our happiness may be taken away from us or when we desire something else to make us happy. If our happiness depends upon a person, thing or circumstances, then the depth of the happiness today might be the depth of the wound tomorrow.