“What is happiness?”

A question that would unsurprisingly invite multifaceted answers is something which intrigued scholars and common man alike for thousands of years and continues to be a debatable one. I jumped into this quest two years back and now I present an abstract of my interpretation of happiness. Before elucidating let me clear the most common misperception about happiness. Riding an expensive car, Healthy relationship, Date with your girl, rewarding career Etc etc, would definitely tempt anyone to misjudge it for happiness. But Contradicting the popular notion, they cloak and imitate it but don’t actually open the door to happiness. They are mere Add-ons or perhaps even an outcome of happiness. So let me brief my understanding.

Happiness is peace in your mind and smile in your face even in the absence of the everything and presence of nothing. It is an outcome of a state of mind which cherishes and nourishes the positivity and negativity alike around you, enjoying the life the way it threads amidst all the maliciousness that you may encounter. It is independent of materialistic possessions, dependancy or expectations. In this capitalistic world everyone searches for happiness outside failing to look inside where the chest of happiness awaits to be opened. Once unlocked, It provides a vision to look at the world and respond to it without having or causing any displeasure or pique to yourself and the people around you. In a sense it is liberation from the shackles of negativity and fear, for the mind is empowered to pursue its desires. 

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
                                                                                                    -Mahatma Gandhi

While some may disagree with my self centric definition of happiness and argue that happiness lies in the joy of giving or helping, I believe that happiness is contagious and the “willingness to help others” wouldn’t have been born without happiness in self. It is a feeling which needs to be felt from inside by sowing seeds of positivity, accepting the reality and learning to enjoy simple things in life, which unfortunately goes unnoticed to naked eyes primarily for the reason that it does not have a price tag. Love, money, relationship are all branches of the happiness tree, but the root is YOU. You are responsible for your happiness and it begins with YOU. Discover yourself! 

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