Every human activity is nothing but an implicit pursuit of happiness. We don't always say it, but that is what we seek at the end of the day. Be it a student burning the midnight oil to fare well in his examination, a priest preaching the scriptures to his disciples, a sportsman practising relentlessly for a big game, a professional roughing it out at work, a sculptor working on his grand scultpture or a dishonest officer accepting bribes - each one of them goes about doing these things to be happy eventually. Our life is a journey, where one thing leads to another and there is always a task at hand to be fulfilled. If we think completing a certain undertaking will finally make us happy, it probably will. More often than not it doesn't, as an even bigger assignment emerges subsequently and we begin our rigmarole all over again before we know what is happening. Another exam will soon be round the corner, another big sculpture will await the artist, and yet another big match will happen. In simple words, that is the flow of life.
So when will we finally find our coveted happiness? We don't have to take a trip to Shangri-La or sell off our Ferraris to unearth the answer to this. We just have to look within, and around. As we are constantly engaged in the process of achieving a certain goal in the hope that it will lead us to our ultimate destination - happiness; we do not realise that happiness is not an end but a state of being. While all of us are busy doing our 'stuff' believing that it will lead us to our larger objective we overlook the little things that happen all around us all the time. We underestimate the power of these little things. Why do we forget that all great things are made up of several small bits? And every small bit in the masterpiece canvas has its own worth and beauty. We do not realise that in life as well it is these little bits that create a state of happiness in and around us.
It is a rare thing to realise the beauty in simplicity. Sharing a random laugh with a stranger in a public bus, a light conversation with the greengrocer, an unexpected encounter with your crush in the elevator, recognising a familiar face in a crowd, seeing a toddler smiling innocently at you, having little puppies saunter around your feet playfully, watching vagabonds race old tyres on the street, watching the sunset at the beach, bumping into an old favourite on the radio, helping an aged lady down a flight of stairs at the railway station or a sudden text from an old friend. Aren't these simple little things? And aren't they sure to bring a smile on our faces and lighten our minds? It is for each of us to realise that each day comes with its own ups and downs and so does life, in the long run. However, nobody has stopped us from encashing the few breathers that life tosses at us in the midst of those ups and downs. We will undoubtedly face constant struggles on our 'journey to bliss' but our mental disposition determines the joy we derive while on that journey.
We don't always need an expensive overseas holiday, lavish meals and designer clothes to be content. Devouring hot vada pavs at the brink of Bushi Dam in the raging monsoons wearing your denim shorts and favourite tee may prove to be far more satiating. Happiness is a state of mind. We are happy if we think we are.
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