Where is Happiness Found?
Ever since I was little, I’ve heard that popular saying, “happiness is within you.” One day, I gazed into the mirror, looked myself up and down, and wondered, “But, where is it? All that’s inside of me is bones, organs, fatty tissue and blood!”
Years later, I discovered that internal spot where happiness can be found. I’d like to share with you an ancient Hindu story that explains this phenomenon. It’s the legend of an omnipotent being who creates a playground called earth, where humans could grow and develop, and realize that they were one with Him.
While the Creator, called God, looked down on his work, he noticed that something wasn’t right: no one wanted to grow! Every time humans had to overcome an obstacle, they would quit the game, remembering their origins, saying: “I don’t want to go through hard times, I am a part of God, I can go back to him.”
The Creator was very worried. He called an urgent meeting with all the celestial beings to hide the secret of happiness, because as long as it was so easy to find, no one would ever want to participate in the game of life.
A cherub raised his hand and said, Let’s put it on the top of the highest mountain. God replied: humans would find a way to scale the remotest peak of the highest mountain. Then, an archangel suggested, we’ll hide it at the bottom of the ocean. God thought: people would develop sophisticated diving equipment to reach it. Then a celestial spirit exclaimed: let’s put it on the moon. But God warned: they will be able to invent technologies to travel into space and visit other planets.
A heavy silence hung over the room. Then a beautiful female angel with shining wings said: “I know the perfect place.” God asked, Where is it? And she replied mischievously, “In the deepest depths of their own hearts, they will never bother to look there.”
As the legend goes, ever since then, humanity has searched for happiness in the exterior world, through romantic relationships, the perfect job, plastic surgery, money, fame and power, forgetting that true happiness can only be found inside of us.
This fable reminds me of a quote from the writer Agnes Repplier: “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.”
You might be in the most beautiful place on the face of the earth, but if you are upset and worried, you will be unhappy. On the other hand, you could be in the least appealing spot on the whole planet, but if you are in a good mood, you will feel lucky. Your inner energy is what decides your happiness. The way you think and react in every situation will determine the joy in your heart.
For more Maria Marin’s articles in Quinceanera.com click here:
http://www.quinceanera.com/index.php/lang-es/education/motivation
Visit: www.MariaMarin.com
This post is also available in: Spanish
