Finding Your Patronus!
What constitutes happiness?
I love asking questions! Who doesn’t? (*smiles gleefully*)
And on the occasion of International Day of Happiness, I sought to find the answer to the question that has baffled Man for centuries!
The responses were overwhelming! This blog post is a short composition of the submissions that I received. Here is what I found out!
Happiness is…
Music
Pranav loves to listen to music and he believes that happiness lies in listening to a random song that perfectly resonates with his feelings.
Staying true to yourself
“Happiness is being yourself, to not pretend and to feel safe in your own skin!”, claims Shyama.
Giving back
Each day is God’s gift for you to cherish. So don’t forget to be happy and make others happy as happiness shared is happiness cherished.
Ah, what can I say to that. Jos here is so right!
And of course, F.R.I.E.N.D.S = J.O.Y
Parvathy writes,
From wholesome advice to crappy talks,
to walks down the corridors.
Happiness is knowing that
you have met them in your life.
From cracking your shell
to transforming your life,
From the good girl gone bad times,
to living a splendid college life
Happiness is having them.
Happiness is looking up to them.
Some Measure it as Goals!
Rohith says achieving something and seeing the smile on your mother’s face is pure happiness.
Akhila adds that she finds happiness in achieving her targets. From yoga and pursuing her hobbies to enjoying a bit of alone time to writing about happiness, she finds joy in numerous things!
According to Nelda, happiness is doing things that we love. And if people are able to do what they are passionate about, there is no greater happiness in life!
Don’t forget about Fun!
What does happiness mean to me?, Aswathy answers:
It’s the feeling as the clock approaches 4:30 PM and I can FINALLY go home. Far away from these dreadful, boring classes.That moment when you hear you have a free period? That’s happiness.
It’s the feeling of warmth I get when I play with a kitten I found on the road. The content sigh my sister gives once she gets her favourite chocolate.
Waking up in the middle of the night, realising I have plenty of hours left before the alarm blares. Happiness is red and blue, and green, and yellow.It feels like the sun, soaking me up in its warmth.
It feels like the moon’s subtle glow, making the howls of the night a bit more bearable.
It’s the little things in life!
Krishnan points out that happiness is fighting with her and then making up over a cup of coffee. Happiness is friend smiling back at us in the middle of an examination.
Sachin believes happiness lies in little things in life like the pleasures of simple friendship, creating something, helping a person in need, reading a good book, laughing with someone you care about.
But then again, Life ain’t all Hunky Dory Always!
It’s when Shivaram was suffering from a bad day, did his mom step up to be his patronus!
As I got home, I wondered why? Isn’t there anyone who wants to be happy and make others happy?
At 8:00, my mom asked me to have dinner and I refused, telling her that I had assignments to complete and that I would have it later on. She fed me by hand, as I was finishing my assignment. When I looked at her, she smiled and said: “My son loves chappathi and paneer a lot”. Even though I didn’t mention a word to her, she sensed I was hungry and her words made me teary-eyed.
I realised that there were people in the world who want to be happy and make others happy at the same time.
Knowing you are not alone come what may!
According to Aparna happiness is knowing that even when everything around you falls apart, few good things do happen to give us hope.
It could be anything, a spark of positivity. It could be the chance to fulfil an old promise, having a meaningful conversations with a long lost contact, a gesture from your dad reassuring his faith in you, happiness is knowing you are not alone come what may!
To add to this Amrin admits that happiness is family. Being with the people you love the most and being loved by the people who matter the most is the best feeling in the world.
The Unvarnished Truth
Anand speaks the truth:
Is there a paradise still awaiting us? Is there a future where we can live without restrictions, stress or pressure?I hate to sound pessimistic, but no, there isn’t. And I’m sure, not in the World that we live in.
But why do we keep searching for this paradise? It is because we believe we will find true happiness. True happiness that lasts an entire lifetime.
And in this quest, we keep thinking about our future. We are so deeply preoccupied that we forget the pure law of life — living in the present.
What matters is the present. Eternal happiness perhaps can never be found.
Happiness is experienced in those small yet precious moments you have in the present. Happiness is all about savouring the joy in the moment you have.
Measure life in moments, not minutes. True happiness is nothing but a moment.
