Are You Happy? If Not, Why Not?

You can be happy ……..

Happiness !!!!!!

They say we become our environment. That we cultivate our environment.

I’ll set the scene in your mind for you. Picture a grocery store with a man in his 60’s sitting on a bench by the exit door along with a few people around him that he hasn’t seen in some time.

In broken English he says, “I have four children. One is a dentist. One is a lawyer. One is a doctor. And one is happy.”

Are you happy? How is your self-esteem?

Having served in Armed Forces and Corporate World, I receive many messages from people from all corners of the world. They think of me being being and well off with resources. But are we well off? Happy?

For the most part our customs and traditions are:

(1) Get a good job
(2) Get a nice house
(3) Get a nice car

So here we are. We get that good job. We get that nice house. We get that nice car. But then are we happy? Oh, they (the system of marketing and sales) forgot to tell us that won’t really make us happy. Our parents didn’t drill into our heads to be happy. They told us, “Get a good job. Then you’ll be someone.”

When we think of Mother Theresa, do we think of the sweet ride (car) she had? Or are we saying: “Man her house was the bomb” (which means for us older folks: wasn’t it something?). Do we remember her? And all her great values? And for what principles she believed in and stood for?

And we talk about happiness. Like an unrecognized commodity.

“In Nainital where I live, I don’t have a problem. However earth, has all the problems. Anger. Hatred is all around us. But it doesn’t have to be this way. A new self-healing spacecraft must be developed by us. One with precision pieces of engineering. Engineered with hope, joy, and kindness to our fellow man. One that makes all spirits fly.”

Why? Why do so many enjoy this? Perhaps we aren’t happy with our spouse. Our boss/workplace. We were bullied in school. So much anger and hatred placed upon our souls. We can’t fight back, but it is good to watch. We can release it this way. But it is all wrong, isn’t it?

So often these emotions enter into our daily lives. They seep into our relationships. Our parenting. Our being. Our legacy.

At the start of each new year most make resolutions. Maybe this year we should keep it simple. This year I’m going to instill happiness into my parenting. This year I’m going to be happy. This year I’m going to learn how to be truly happy.

There is still some time left for new year, think, think and be happy…

Contributed by Col. Prakash Tewari

Feature Photo: Smriti Kalra, Model & Actress