Too Big Too Little

Happiness is a state of mind. There are people who have everything under the sun but still feel miserable. On the contrary, there are people who have nothing, but always feel great joy.

I have a friend, Rakesh, a sport enthusiast, who is suffering from prostate cancer and presently undergoing treatment at a hospital, but whenever I talk to him, I always find him in a jolly and upbeat mood. He is happy that he is getting the best treatment available and is sure to win this battle, as he used to win matches for our college team.

Rakesh is not alone. There are people with serious health and other complications, but they don’t bother about the shortcomings and deficiencies, and even if they consider, they think it minuscule compared to what they have.

If we take the diameter of the earth as compared to distance between earth and Sun, the diameter of the earth can be said to be too small, but if we compare the same diameter of earth with the size of a grain, diameter of the earth can be said to be too big.

So it all depends on the context, and the matrix or scale of comparison. The same relationship exists between richness and poverty, or between happiness and sadness.

If my income is more than my wants, I’m rich, but if my wants are more than my income, I’m poor. It’s so simple. A simple mathematics of numerator and denominator. I consider myself rich because my wants are far less than my income. Anybody can be rich, if he or she adjusts by progressively reducing the wants within his or her income.

So the mathematics works in our mind. If we think that what we have are too little compared to what others have, we’ll never be happy. Such negative thoughts impair both body and soul.

And it’s so natural, as right from early in the morning till the time we go to sleep, we are bombarded with negative thoughts, news and vibes either through mobile phones, newspapers or television. Our thoughts are shaped by what we see, read and listen to.

Then what to do? The only option is to counter such thoughts with positive thoughts, and positive thoughts can be created by positive affirmations, e.g. “I’m happy, I’m healthy, I’m peaceful, I’m fearless, I’m giver, I don’t need anything, my business is doing well, success is certain of me, I accept people and people accept me etc etc…”

Positive affirmations are like resolutions irrespective of whatever position we are in. It may look like lying to oneself. But resolutions lead to accomplishments. Reiteration of these positive phrases or statements every night before sleeping and every morning after getting up, does help in challenging and reframing negative thoughts.

I have seen it happening.
Just think, speak and see it happen. Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.

The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are. — Goldie Hawn

–Kaushal Kishore

images: pinterest