Are we really happy??

Have we ever thought what are we running after?...

Aren’t we running this rat race and ignoring the little things in life which are the real source of happiness.

Do we remember when we made someone smile or made someone’s life better?....Do we remember when we went out in the rains to have a splash?...Do we remember when we had a long walk along a beach?..”Woh kagaz ki kashti , who barish ka paani”

Aren’t we so much engrossed in the petty issues and giving them undue importance. Getting half a mark more than our peer has become a priority, earning a fat pay package is a matter of pride without any clue how to spend that sum.

We have stopped loving each other and running in this mad chaos for better marks, better jobs without realising that we are postponing our smiles and happiness in this journey called LIFE . We strive to get into the best of colleges, in turn to get the best of the jobs; without realising the fact that the end result we aspire for is happiness.

But, happiness does not come just as an offshoot of owning a BMW or a beachside bungalow at Juhu beach.

Vice President ,strategy at Lehman Brothers in New York during the crisis said” At a time when all wealth disappeared overnight for me,the only thing that stood steadfast was the meaningful relationships with family and friends that I had nurtured through a lifetime”

The subprime crisis has brought people back to the roots. The meltdown is a reminder to everyone to put aside the deafening daily din and to put one’s ears to the inner voice and calling of life.

I feel happiness is a factor of relishing small things in life…remember when we were children, played small indoor games felt elated in winning them, when we won our first ever prize in kindergarten , that small prize or that sense of recognition when we were on the top of the world.

But, now we crib on small things in life…crib for half a mark ……or a better job for that matter.

We have become so self-centred ignorant to the fact that we are not happy inside. We have stopped making true relationships and every relationship has become an interest of self-gratification. Its all directed to the self. We have failed to recognise that we have a definite life span for all of us…a day will come when our lives will come to an end.

We don’t realise that we have almost covered 20-25 percent of this life god has bestowed upon us..why not to make the most of what 70-75 percent of what is left now?

Do we dare to ask this once we die whether the world will remember us from the grades we get or the amount of money we have in our bank accounts, but how much we have made changes to their lives?

What matters is the number of smiling faces all around and how much happiness one spreads along the way.

“After all there are things which money can’t buy”

We should get back to our roots ….there is no end to materialistic pleasures.

Samarth Gupta (09-11)