In search of true happiness....
I am happy today...in the absolute sense
This is a recent phenomenon. Since the last 2 months I always do a double check on the type of happiness i am experiencing...
Is my happiness relative or absolute? If it’s relative I stop being happy and just accept the moment without reacting but if its absolute, my happiness multiplies
If we were to look at our past (although I would not advocate that ...esp. after having written the blog on 'living for the moment') we can recall moments when we were really happy ; If i were to request you to reflect on these happy moments and ask yourselves, 'Was my happiness a function of some kind of comparison with something/someone?"
If the answer is yes then that happiness unfortunately was only relative. However if it had nothing to do with any kind of comparison then you would have experienced happiness in the true sense.
Many times we are happy simply because we become better in some way than others; the happiness of a new job is relative when you are happy because - you’re getting more salary than you expected, more than what your friends have got, better designation to show off - you see all these are relative happiness, only there to satisfy your ego which thrives on comparing with others and in the process making you mentally weak.
Because remember relative happiness is only temporary; it does not last long, it goes away before you even you experience it completely; in some days you realize that the very friend whom you compared against and felt happy, got a better designation in his new company! There is really no end to this. Also there is a tendency to keep on changing the scope of your comparision. Today you are happy comparing your salary with your office friend, tomorrow one of your school friends pops up and he is getter better salary than you... again dissonance!
However what you really need to strive for is absolute happiness which is in essence the true happiness.
And that happiness is generated internally; which is without any attachments or comparisons. I strongly believe that true happiness can only be found within you; never ever depend upon others to make you happy in the true sense. If u thinks you are happy because of others in your life you are really fooling yourself.
Come to think of it, how can you depend upon others to make you happy who themselves are dependent for their happiness.
It’s all in your mindset
Absolute happiness is generated within you; if you get a job which makes you happy because you get a chance to prove yourself about a new challenging task/a new milestone / a fresh new chapter to be added in this exciting and beautiful life of yours then you would experience absolute happiness
The great thing about absolute happiness is that it is not temporary; it is eternal and cannot be destroyed by any external happening unlike relative happiness which gets shattered with times or the moment your scope of comparison changes
Nobody can take absolute happiness away from you. It’s yours, it’s related to your soul, to who you are. It’s your happiness in the purest form.
Also one should realise that relative happiness is always linked with sadness (bear in mind there is no relative or absolute sadness... sadness is always relative, you are sad because you are comparing your state with something/someone else; internally you can never be sad; they way you perceive a situation is what makes you feel you sad). So today if you are relatively happy be prepared to face unhappiness of some form in time to come.
Therein lies the greatest wisdom; you can eliminate sadness from your life by eliminating relative happiness (Something to think about nah!)
Hence today when I reviewed the offer letter from the company I got the job offer from, i sat down and thought - 'Why am I happy?'.
That’s when I realised that what i am accepting is a challenging assignment, handling an independent portfolio and the thrill of learning below the line activities is really what was making me happy. Not so much my salary or designation (which infact was not that great). Its then I realized that I am happy in the absolute sense
This is what i wanted to share. I hope in life whenever we really do get happy lets all spend a moment in reflecting on the type of happiness we are experiencing; if its relative then lets just accept it without reacting too much into it; this will save us from a lot of unhappiness later in life. On the other hand its always the happiness of the absolute sense that we should strive for.
And therefore i can confidently write that i am happy today...the absolute sense!
Perspectives..........
This is a recent phenomenon. Since the last 2 months I always do a double check on the type of happiness i am experiencing...
Is my happiness relative or absolute? If it’s relative I stop being happy and just accept the moment without reacting but if its absolute, my happiness multiplies
If we were to look at our past (although I would not advocate that ...esp. after having written the blog on 'living for the moment') we can recall moments when we were really happy ; If i were to request you to reflect on these happy moments and ask yourselves, 'Was my happiness a function of some kind of comparison with something/someone?"
If the answer is yes then that happiness unfortunately was only relative. However if it had nothing to do with any kind of comparison then you would have experienced happiness in the true sense.
Many times we are happy simply because we become better in some way than others; the happiness of a new job is relative when you are happy because - you’re getting more salary than you expected, more than what your friends have got, better designation to show off - you see all these are relative happiness, only there to satisfy your ego which thrives on comparing with others and in the process making you mentally weak.
Because remember relative happiness is only temporary; it does not last long, it goes away before you even you experience it completely; in some days you realize that the very friend whom you compared against and felt happy, got a better designation in his new company! There is really no end to this. Also there is a tendency to keep on changing the scope of your comparision. Today you are happy comparing your salary with your office friend, tomorrow one of your school friends pops up and he is getter better salary than you... again dissonance!
However what you really need to strive for is absolute happiness which is in essence the true happiness.
And that happiness is generated internally; which is without any attachments or comparisons. I strongly believe that true happiness can only be found within you; never ever depend upon others to make you happy in the true sense. If u thinks you are happy because of others in your life you are really fooling yourself.
Come to think of it, how can you depend upon others to make you happy who themselves are dependent for their happiness.
It’s all in your mindset
Absolute happiness is generated within you; if you get a job which makes you happy because you get a chance to prove yourself about a new challenging task/a new milestone / a fresh new chapter to be added in this exciting and beautiful life of yours then you would experience absolute happiness
The great thing about absolute happiness is that it is not temporary; it is eternal and cannot be destroyed by any external happening unlike relative happiness which gets shattered with times or the moment your scope of comparison changes
Nobody can take absolute happiness away from you. It’s yours, it’s related to your soul, to who you are. It’s your happiness in the purest form.
Also one should realise that relative happiness is always linked with sadness (bear in mind there is no relative or absolute sadness... sadness is always relative, you are sad because you are comparing your state with something/someone else; internally you can never be sad; they way you perceive a situation is what makes you feel you sad). So today if you are relatively happy be prepared to face unhappiness of some form in time to come.
Therein lies the greatest wisdom; you can eliminate sadness from your life by eliminating relative happiness (Something to think about nah!)
Hence today when I reviewed the offer letter from the company I got the job offer from, i sat down and thought - 'Why am I happy?'.
That’s when I realised that what i am accepting is a challenging assignment, handling an independent portfolio and the thrill of learning below the line activities is really what was making me happy. Not so much my salary or designation (which infact was not that great). Its then I realized that I am happy in the absolute sense
This is what i wanted to share. I hope in life whenever we really do get happy lets all spend a moment in reflecting on the type of happiness we are experiencing; if its relative then lets just accept it without reacting too much into it; this will save us from a lot of unhappiness later in life. On the other hand its always the happiness of the absolute sense that we should strive for.
And therefore i can confidently write that i am happy today...the absolute sense!
Perspectives..........
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posted by Perspectives....by stevan @ 11:27 AM
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