Welcoming Happiness

WELCOMING HAPPINESS

A husband and wife were struggling to keep up the pace with the city of Mumbai. They belonged to a small taluka Srirampur in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. They had come to Mumbai expecting a decent career and living. However, they were losing themselves day by day in the overcrowded local trains and work pressures of the office. The wife who was a trained nurse was working in a nearby hospital. The husband who was a diploma holder from an engineering polytechnic worked with a software organization as a programmer. They lived a very humble lifestyle such that they could fulfill their dream of owning a flat in Navi Mumbai. Both husband and wife tried to save money in every small thing. The wife took tuition classes in the evening and husband took an assignment for the weekends just to earn extra money. They both wanted to invite their parents and relatives for the griha pravesh (housewarming) ceremony. As the day came near, they sent out the invitations to family and friends. They wanted everyone to join in the celebrations. It thrilled everyone as they could settle themselves in Mumbai. However, their happiness was short lived. They received a call from the builder just 4 days before the event to deposit an amount of 1 lac rupees. The couple had no option other than depositing money as they did not want the builder to harass them. It left them with no money for the celebrations. They had taken a loan from almost everyone known in their circle for buying the house thus could not ask for help. The couple was highly anxious. The situation could have led to a loss of face in front of friends and family.

"I think we should postpone the event. Have no money left to take care of the guests," husband said to wife.

"I understand but we cannot postpone the event as the day is very auspicious. Have to do the griha pravesh the same day", said the wife.

"Well, in that case, let's call our parents only for the pooja (ceremony prayer). We will tell rest of the people that have postponed the celebrations," said the husband.

"We should respect and welcome happiness," said the wife.

"What do you mean?", enquired the husband.

"When happiness is around you. We should bring it to our home by giving due respect to it. Our friends and family members are looking forward to the event. We must not stop them," said the wife.

"You do not understand. We have no resources to welcome them", said the husband. He also wanted to welcome the guests but the tough situation was forcing him to backtrack.

After a constant push from wife, the husband yielded to the wife's wishes. They canceled the tent, caterer and got the advance refunded back to them. The wife called upon her close friends to help cook food for over 100 guests for the event. They requested the builder to allow them to host the event in the garden. When he came to know about their situation, he refunded 20,000 rupees as a gift to them.

The guests appreciated the hospitality of the couple. The flat owners in the society also joined in the ‘pooja ceremony’ and gave their best wishes to the couple. Everyone who attended the event praised the couple's effort in managing the event well and blessed them for peace and prosperity.

Happiness is a state of mind. It's a way of reacting to the situations we face. One situation may bring a smile to your face and discomfort on the other. A poor person may feel happy that he had a stomach full today. The other poor person may feel unhappy even after stomach full thinking about the next day.

Our barometer of success is ‘in comparison with others’. Our idea of happiness also has become ‘in comparison with others’. We will be happy at one moment but will become unhappy the same moment if we come to know someone known to us has gained a worthy possession. It doesn't matter the other person is a close relative, a neighbor or a poor person working for us. We form opinions basis what the other person has to show-off without caring to know the background of the same. In the process we get hurt as we feel this person is not worthy enough to deserve it. We keep ridiculing the other person and keep hurting ourselves for the same. What we do not consider, what the other person would have gone through to achieve success.

Once we understand that whatever challenges we face will not last a lifetime and even if they last for a lifetime, feeling sorry for yourself will not help, anyway. This will help you cope up with the pressures of life and be an overall positive person. Your outlook and the way to deal with the situation will change. This will make you calmer and at ease.  

from the book

Happiness All Along

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