HAPPINESS: HARMONY BETWEEN MIND, BODY AND SOUL

"Happiness is an Ice Cream Cone with a chocolate coating, topped with cherries or raspberries" As I reflect upon some of the limited experiences of my life with respect to charging my "Quotient of Happiness", I tend to look back into history and get pleasantly reminded about some of the thoughts that have had arisen in minds over and over the last few thousand years. These ideas have stood the test of time. May be you could find some of them useful enough to brighten your day with the light of bliss and happiness. (l) You choose.lt is important how we view ourselves and the world around us. These are matters of conscious choices and habits of one-self. Either you choose to find happiness in the normal, small, everyday chores that you do or you choose to be negative or indifferent towards them. In a nutshell, it is about perceiving and interpreting things in a positive way or negative way. The lens that you choose to view things will determine your thought process and subsequently your action. Therefore, our choices control how much happiness we would find, create and treasure. "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be". Abraham Lincoln (2) Focus on the present, not yesterday or tomorrow. Many of us tend to brood over past and worry about the future. In that process we tend to forget what we have with us, which is the very moment in which we live, "OUR PRESENT". Bygone is bygone, nothing can change it and nobody knows what future has in store. The only truth lies is living in the present because that is the time with us to which we can make a difference. We must learn to live more in the "NOW" "The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet." James Oppenheim

(3) Get rid of a couple of your less valuable desires. What I mean here is that it is wonderful to be desirous of things in life, but it is important to distinguish what is the thing that would bring utmost happiness and bliss to you and your near and dear ones and what are things which if you do not have, you can still lead a life of joy and contentment. Often we are not able to distinguish between the two. "If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires." Epicurus (4) Do not forget to be grateful. One of the time-tested energy boosters is this feeling FEELING OF GRATITUDE- towards all the things around you. It could be anything, Bright sunshine, greenery, friends, delicious food, just about anything. Try it for a minute and trust me it would bring in a revolution in the way you feel. Somewhere in this journey of fast paced life, we forget about people and things that have brightened our lives and continue to do evermore. One more thing- it is equally important not just to feel sense of gratitude but express it as well; as by doing this; not only you feel great but people you are grateful for, feel great too as they feel wanted and appreciated. So EXPRESS.. "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom". Marcel Proust (5) Help someone else find happiness: It might sound preachy and cliched but it works. I am a believer of the Law of Reciprocity, when you make someone happy, the feeling travels to you, people also feel like giving back to you or helping someone else and like this happiness spreads infectiously. "Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared." Buddha (6) Do what you like to do. Refrain from doing things what you would not want to do. This is much easier said than done. So let me rephrase this. May be, try and attempt to do more of those things that you would want to do, things that involve your passion, creativity and sense of connectedness. This works wonders.... Happiness is not in the mere

possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. Franklin D. Roosevelt (7) Be engaged - at least do something: It really helps to be positively engaged and be able to utilize one's time constructively. This is again a relative thought, it could be cooking a nice meal, looking after kids or teaching and so on..what is important is to be ENGAGED..This aides the process of contentment and fulfillment as naturally every human being wants to contribute and participate in the world of which he or she is a part of. "Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action". Benjamin Disraeli It is very much in our hands to be happy or not to be happy!!

With Luv and Best Wishes Naghma Firdaus Rawat W/O Sqn Ldr RS Rawat