True Happiness
A friend would occasionally ask: "Are you happy?" Generally, most of us can say a resounding yes. Some may be happy with their business or work yet may not be happy with a situation at home or vice versa. Others are doing great but worry about health. Can you say that you are entirely happy? Or two out of three ain't bad. Listen to Meatloaf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2G-DKOGFbc
Whatever it is, if you look around you - countries with severe floods or other calamities then we have nothing to complain. Perspective checked. Is this to say that being in Singapore, we can only be happy?
What is Happiness? Being happy is to be "glad, content, to feel lucky, fortunate, casual, light-hearted, gay, merry, lively, cheerful, bright, jovial, pleased, joyous, satisfied, prosperous." (Gay of course has some other meanings.) So many words to described a certain feeling or situation so don't tell me that you are not in one of them. How can that be? Defining happiness may even proof more elusive than actually achieving it even if it is fleeting pleasure. Can happiness be measured? Is it about positive emotions and life satisfaction? Do you realise that "Happiness" is in our national pledge..."so as to achieve happiness"?
When I was young, I was taught a song which was even used during boy scouts camps or when we had our own camp fire. Listen and sing along:
Kookaburra
Kookaburra
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry King of the Bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra! Gay your life must be. Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Eating all the gum drops he can see. Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra! Leave some there for me. Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Counting all the monkeys he can see. Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra! That's not a monkey that's me. Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail. Gets a boo-boo in his tail. Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, Kookaburra! Oh how life can be. (End). Go on, try it, just hum along. I'm sure you know the song.
I had the fortune to get a few shots of a real Kookaburra with a crab in its beak. Wasn't a good shot given poor lighting conditions at night and limited equipment in untrained hands.
Kookaburras are large birds, a type of Kingfisher native to Australia and are best known for their unmistakable calls which sounds like loud, echoing human laughter ranging from good-natured to hysterical merriment in the case of the "Laughing Kookaburra". Should we live like the Kookaburra to be happy? After all, life can be full of crabs, er I mean crap. I know a thing or two about merriment because I'm in the maritime (pronounced merry time) industry but there is nothing merry about it, have to survive like a Kookaburra. Here's looking at you kid.
Australian band Men At Work was sued for the song Down Under by the composer of the Kookaburra song. Compare it.
Quotes from Bertrand Russel on Happiness
The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy; I mean that if you are happy you will be good.
They say man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence to support this.
Happiness should never be dependent on our own personal circumstance because if it were it is impossible not to demand more from life what it has to give to us.
A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. A sense of duty is useful in work but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not to be endured with patient resignation.
Anything you are good at, contributes to happiness.
Contempt for happiness is usually contempt for other people's happiness. It is an elegant disguise for hatred of the human race.
Just picture this. If this world is made up of people who desired their own happiness more than they would desire unhappiness for others, wouldn't this be such a joyous and beautiful world?
Purpose Of Life
Bhutan
Bhutan is a Himalayan Kingdom nestled with natural beauty inspired by self-reflection and cultural richness. Successful countries have pressure-cooker situation that stressed out children and adults. Bhutan's population are made out of farmers and herdsmen with a Buddhist culture connected with Tibet by history. They are a agricultural community of some 700,000 people living in deep valleys. Their agricultural economy makes them self-sufficient but in the last few decades the monarchy has been guiding the country more towards modernisation. Every country must ask itself how can we pursue modernisation and economic rise and balance it with social well-being and blending it into our culture? Bhutan's emphasis is not GNP as in Gross National Product but in GNH in Gross National Happiness. We have these things such as shelter, better mortality rate, infrastructure, basic sanitation like water, education, etc. The thing about progress is that it can be a monster unto itself. Where is the meaning of happiness? Our entire value system and psychological well-being get screwed when we get a constant diet of commercials everywhere encouraging us to go for fast food, designer fashion, endless supplies of new gadgets or bigger cars. Success brings its own and new problems because poorer countries are more concern about basic needs and those items named above are non-issues. Americans are in a league of their own as their consumerism is at a hyper level. Today's generation are edging towards this obvious style and not just in USA. It seems to have penetrated most if not all societies. Bhutan is aided by its Buddhist tradition where happiness is not equated to material things but more of compassion for others and inner reflection. There is a danger that as the country change, so can its values. Maybe it is human nature.
Problems Lead To Unhappiness
Who has a life without problems? Is happiness a life without problems or having the strengths to overcome problems? Is being unhappy a weakness? Firstly, we have to free ourselves from any kind of fears. Unless you rid yourself of fears then it is more difficult to be happy. Happiness can be attributed to family members, friends, work or business or the size of your car, home or bank account but things are always changing, people changes and nothing is forever. These types of happiness are temporal. Like the morning dew. It fizzles. It is the same when you do comparisons with others. When you look around and see thousands more unfortunate, you will feel blessed and when you see the hundreds much better than you, it can make some folks unhappy. If you have done your best with great effort, honesty and sincerity, what is there not to be happy about? If problems lead to unhappiness, then it is true that we can never be happy.
Ways To Be Happy
There are many ways to be happy and here are some. Develop a vast and broad mind and not a narrow one. Broad minds lead to big hearts and big hearts have wider arteries for blood to flow. When blood flows freely in the heart you have a happy heart and though it can lead to a sudden rush of blood to the brain, you will not experience a sudden rush of sh*t there. Develop a profound spirit to overcome adversity. Every adversity is sometimes just lurking around the corner and you will need a strong will to overcome. Purify yourself, in particularly in your heart, mind and soul. Do not envy others. Everyone has their own battles. If you need to, do something to help others win their battles. Have hobbies which you can pursue passionately even if it means talking to plants or talking to yourself after a poor shot on a golf course. Clowning is also highly recommended. Be a clown and don't take yourself or life too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself. If you don't know how, I can come and show you and join you in laughing at you. There is a presumption among us to think that there is always another time, another chance without realising that life is like ice, it is constantly melting away. Like the dust in the wind we shall become. Listen to Kansas's timeless classic - Dust In The Wind:
Last Chance Saloon
Do you know that each time when we meet someone and then say goodbye and farewell could be the last time. That is the brevity of life which I wish to impress upon you. So when I shake hands and say fare thee well, I really mean it and you can feel the warmth extended because we do not want to have any regrets in life. You should watch "Wall. E". I thought nothing much but when I watched it at the point when the alien robot shook the hands of Wall.E who is about dead, I cried.
Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. He forgave everyone who has wronged him. You don't have to be fortunate to succeed but you can succeed in spite of difficulties. It it through adversity that you build strength, through struggles that gives you character so that in the greatest test of life that comes your way, you would have built that immunity to overcome. All of us are just ordinary without the hardship that comes our way. Humans have this penchant to classify and categorise people and divide them into classes, cultures, religions or nationality to discriminate and judge them. Without it, we will be happy. The Brotherhood of Man. Use a bit of imagination. Let John Lennon show you with Imagine:
More Ways To Be Happy
Success is not the key to happiness but happiness is the key to success. Stop comparing yourself to others. If you have to, learn the good traits of others but feel blessed when there are people worse off and lend a hand if you are able. Count your blessings always. Miracles are happening around us all the time. Train yourself on this as it takes trained eyes and minds to catch them. Help others in one way or another, even just giving your time. Listen too to the poor and weak, they too have stories to tell. Embrace and love nature, be it a walk in the park, a jog through the forest or simply golf. Live for others, it is a joy that is incomparable. Do not be too quick to judge others. In fact, do not judge others. Forgive readily. Then you will have more and more happy days. See how Fonzie did it with style and panache.
Happy Days (with Henry Winkler with Ron Howard)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMxkMy9JvXI&feature=search
Ultimate Fonzie Scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMxkMy9JvXI&feature=search
Ultimate Fonzie Scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NxGO2lx-A0&feature=search
Happiness Depends On Yourself
Happiness Depends On Yourself
We must not depend on others or favourable situation to make us happy. The only person in this world that can make you happy is yourself, You are responsible for it. It is a choice first of all regardless of any situation or outcome. Look around us and you will find that everything in life is changing - rapidly and continuously and relentlessly. People will change, your physical body changes, your health and wealth can change, the weather changes, so does the environment. Therefore, one must decide to be happy first, then count your blessings daily for your family, friends and health. Counting our blessings help to inculcate in us a strong spirit of gratitude.
The rest of things that happen are just circumstances and experiences. It helps you to be happy when you constantly help, understand, listen, console, forgive, love - yourself and others.
To be able to truly forgive easily and love dearly with all your might is not easy but when you could achieve it you become the Grand Master. If you feel unhappy because you are sick, do not have enough of something, when the weather is too hot or too cold, when someone said or did or did not do something, someone stop loving you or didn't appreciate you, then it is impossible to be happy. It is all up to you and only you have the power to make a choice to be happy! Happiness is an attitude. Make it yours today. Wait no more!
Parting shots from: Dale Carnegie - Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Those who are not looking for happiness are most likely to find it, becuase those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.
Boris Sokoloff - Like swimming, riding, writing, or playing golf, happiness can be learned.
Is happiness so elusive? Are we happy? Let's make a conscious effort today to be happy regardless. Then make at least another person happy. The joy will spread. Before I wrote all these, there may be some things I was not happy about. Now, at the end of this article, I am feeling less unhappy. In fact, I know I'll be happy because I am sure that a few people would have read the message and begin to feel happier. May be delirious. Those of you who still can't, write to me or give me a call. To be truly happy, one has to seek happiness for others, share and give freely and yes learn to laugh at yourself. May you be blessed with true happiness all year round!
Comments
Hey, what's your view on life when one starts to move donwhill ? Or like MM Lee says, birthday is not for rejoicing, it s counting how many leaves left.