HAPPINESS IS NOT WHAT I THOUGHT IT TO BE!

What is happiness? To me, the definition of HAPPINESS might change from one person to another according to our own personal experiences. To others, happiness simply means a state of having your complete peace of mind. But the question I stand to ask myself is: how does one get his complete peace of mind if there is none living without problems? Many of us also have it that happiness is when one has been able to achieve something good for himself but let’s cast our eyes around the society, how many of the celebrities out there seem to be happy in life despite the accolades they are being showered with? We all might have perhaps, perceived something different to be happiness. Let’s have a look at what happiness is. 

Let me tell you a story about a man...

Very long ago, there lived a man in his early 30s, and his family in a small village. His life was in between sugar and salt. For the least, he could feed himself and his family. But this young man never seemed to be happy in life. Many of the people he grew up with were at the very top of life; they had all that life could bless one with. This young man saw how happily his colleagues he grew up with lived. He wished to be in their shoes. Yes, but who doesn’t like the good taste of honey? As the day passed, his desire to become rich increased. He had less time to spend with his family since he was always moving from one workplace to the other. The least one could say about him was that he was the most hardworking man in the village. With twenty years of hard labor, this young lad finally became one of the richest men in the community. Yes, he at that time had what he had always wished for. Few years later, he was hit with many health problems due to the overwork and lack of rest he had some years back. Even though he had stopped working at that age, he still had to move from one hospital to the other. He had no time to sit back and enjoy the money he had made for himself. Out of frustrations, he died few years later leaving all that he had acquired back.

Didn’t the young lad think his happiness depended on riches? Yes, because he thought his other colleagues were living happily because they had money but little did he know what some of them were actually going through. Didn’t he at the end get what he had always wished for? But did that make him happy? What happened at the end? Neither did he get the happiness he wanted nor did he enjoy the fruits of his own hard labor. Today, many of us are living along the same life. We stress ourselves for the tomorrow we are not promised for. A recent survey has shown that every 8 out of 10 people are not happy in life. Why? Because we are too busy today fighting for tomorrow forgetting about where our happiness lies. 

He wished to be in their shoes. Yes, but who doesn’t like the good taste of honey? As the day passed, his desire to become rich increased.

Happiness is not wealth, happiness is not fame, neither is it living without problems! What then is HAPPINESS? Happiness is knowing that God created you for a particular purpose. Happiness is knowing that in life, all of us can’t be equal; some must lead for others to follow. Happiness is appreciating each other and being there for one another (humanity). Happiness is knowing that we are bound to meet difficulties in life but with time, everything will get to be fine. Above all, happiness is being content with what we have at the moment and hoping it gets better tomorrow. We all know this already but sadly, the complex nature of our society these days is throwing us out of the line! Peace.

My name is Halidu Abdulai. I’m a computer engineering student currently studying in Turkey. You can connect with me by liking and following  “My ABC” page on all social media handles. 

Disclaimer: everything said is solely out of my own idea. The story in the passage is a fiction and does not relate to anyone.