The Third Rule of Happiness
Future occurs on its whim, not on our desire.
In my previous writing, I demonstrated two findings of my thought on happiness. I got this thought from a life experience. After publishing the writing, I kept thinking about the experience and tried to grasp it more.
Here is the thought:
“What if I knew the exact time of my death? What if I knew that, after a certain time, I will die! Let’s say, I know that I will die after 40 years (I am 25 now).
let’s imagine, after 40 years the day has come. I have only 15 minutes left in this world and I have found myself in a position where I am a successful person, I have a happy family, my sons and daughters are all established, my wife and I grew old together, and I have all I wanted. I know that after my death my sons and daughters will take good care of their mother. So, all things are set. I have nothing to worry about. Through the last 40 years, I have done charity works, contributed to the society and politics as much as I could, read books, watched movies, and been fond of art and philosophy. I was religious, and kept myself away from all the sins; at least, all the major sins. So, I have lived a wonderful life. Now I am going to die after 15 minutes. Somehow I know that God is pleased with me. I have nothing to worry about. In the world, there are still many problems, the next day is still uncertain, but I don’t have to think about it. I am no more obliged. I will not exist physically after 15 minutes.
To me, these 15 minutes will be my happiest 15 minutes in this world. This feeling of happiness is the highest feeling anyone could ever imagine. We all can feel it, right?” After explaining the thought, I came to the conclusion that I would be happy in that moment for two reasons:
- I know the exact time of my death.
- I’ve fulfilled my duties in this world.
And I explained the reasons.
Discovering the third reason
One day I was discussing the findings with one of my friends. I intended to describe him the two rules of happiness in order to check if he complies with me. After I finished telling him the thought, I was about to describe him the two reasons, but before that, I wanted to give him some time to think about what I just said and asked him, “So, what do you think? Why will I feel happy at that moment?” He was thinking, taking some time to answer. In that brief moment of silence, I was thinking too — why I would feel happy.
This was a Eureka moment. In that moment when I was about to describe him the two rules of happiness, I discovered the third one, and I think in that brief moment of silence I gained one of the most important thoughts of my life, which I call ‘Third Rule of Happiness.’
Understanding the third rule
I found that in those 15 minutes I would feel happy not only because I knew the exact time of my death and had fulfilled all my duties but also because I no longer had to think about the future. I am dying now. There is no tomorrow; there is no fear for unknown threat or challenge of the future. So, I am no longer tensed on anything. I understood that my race will continue to live on the earth with their own happiness and sorrow, facing their own unique trials and successes, as it has since the beginning of humankind. There is nothing to worry about; everything will be fine!
So, I came to the conclusion that if anyone really wants to be happy in their life, they should fulfill their duty and not think about the future. Let the whole chaotic structure of the socio-natural world decide if the outcome will be in your favor or not. Thinking about the future is nothing but waste of time. Most people live in their past which they can’t change, worry about the future which is not in their hands, and do nothing about the present which they are master of. This is a clog of mind and absolute obstacle for happiness.
When I say not to think about the future, it does not mean to act without thinking about the possible outcomes. What I mean is, we must think about the possible outcomes of our action, and we should act on our calculated best decision, but we shouldn’t think about whether the best outcome will ensue or not, or worry about the challenges that might arise as a consequence of the action. Because the future occurs on its whim, not on our desire.
