Happiness

No matter how difficult our circumstances are, no matter if we are born into poverty with seemingly no advantages compared to those around us, and no matter if our lives are filled with tragedy and suffering, our lives are still a blessing. Have you ever envied the life of an ant or a pet dog? Perhaps as a passing thought, but no one truly wants to live like an ant or a dog. We are born as humans in this world. Despite the many people around us who seem to live better lives, we often fail to realize how remarkable it is just to be alive and breathing as humans among the many living beings on this planet. In our current society, economic wealth often appears to be synonymous with life’s success, but this is not an absolute truth. In a capital-driven era, money may seem to provide everything, but this is merely a collective illusion imposed by society. One day, perhaps in the near future, we will awaken from this hypnosis and adopt different standards of success and happiness.

If we gradually change our perspective on life, we will find many things around us that can make us happy. Sitting on a bench in the warm spring sunlight, enjoying a cool coffee is happiness. Seeing someone you want to see right away, or calling them to hear their voice is happiness. Even if you cannot see or hear them, living in a world where you can view photos or videos of them is a source of happiness. There are many things around us that can bring us joy: a good book, a great movie, or appreciating a beautiful painting. These moments of happiness are plentiful around us; it’s just that we often don’t perceive them because they are overshadowed by the self-imposed suffering we create.

Studies say that 85% of our worries never actually happen, and of the remaining 15%, 79% are not as severe as we anticipated or provide valuable lessons. This means that 97% of our worries are unnecessary. Let’s set aside our worries and focus on the happiness we can enjoy right now.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a lot of money? Certainly better than not having any. But worrying about something you can’t have right now only makes you unhappy in comparison to your present. Let go of thoughts about what you can’t have or what is difficult to obtain now, and appreciate what you do have and what you can easily attain.