I often wonder as to what is the meaning of equality? Some are born into families that can spend thousands of crore rupees to make their kids happy, and many can not buy enough food for their kids and their kids sleep hungry stomach and still remain happy and grateful. Some travel by private jet while many have to travel in the locals like cattle. Some own many buildings worth thousands of crores while many sleep on the streets. If somebody knows how to manipulate the systems, the sky is the limit in this world.
However, all these hold true, if we believe that happiness is a by-product of money. In fact, I see that the reality is quite the contrary. First of all, life is much more than money. There are 12 houses in Astrology representing 12 different dimensions of life. The first house represents health, the second wealth, the third initiatives and younger siblings, the fourth vehicles, properties, and everything that comes as a result of our initiatives, the fifth new direction, and kids, the sixth changes in life and diseases, the seventh represents surrounding and spouse, eighth the expression of the ecosystem such as student events and secret knowledge, the ninth represents the teacher, father, and guide, the tenth respect in the society and career, the eleventh represents business ventures and promotions, and the twelfth represents loss and accidents. There can not be a single horoscope on this earth wherein one or more of these houses are not afflicted. Therefore it is sheer stupidity to say that somebody who has money is happy. What about health, friends, relatives, gurus, and teachers? I therefore feel that money for sure is overrated and somehow social media is stupidly spreading all these illusions and weak minds get caught in the trap and set earning money as the sole goal of life and remain unhappy throughout their lives.
Second, isn't the body, mind, and all the material possessions just instruments to live life? Can anybody in this world decide how long he will live? Definitely not. Happiness for a cricketer is to enjoy playing matches. The day he gets fixated on his bat, or a stadium, or a team, or victory, or a trophy, he has already moved away from the path of happiness. Happiness is always in the process. It is all about the joy of playing matches for the cricketer. The moment we get fixated on the outcome, we give away the joy of the process since our mind gets fixated on the future. Thus, we are the biggest reasons for our own sadness, anxieties, and worries. Happiness for a civil servant is to enjoy the assignment that has been given to him. It is not about the positions and powers. The moment a civil servant gets fixated on a position or power, he decides to be unhappy since his attention will move away from the work at hand. Happiness for a mother is in taking care of the kids and giving life lessons and a conducive environment for the growth of the kids rather than in thinking about the future of the kids. Happiness in a relationship is to enjoy the sharing in the present moment rather than worrying about the future of the relationship because if sharing is beautiful, the future will always be beautiful and even if it is not, that does not matter because whatever moments we got, we made the best use of the same.
Thus, I feel that happiness is always about living in the present moment and making the best use of the same. The moment we get fixated on any material possessions such as money, power, or even a person, we start worrying about the loss of such things and that takes our attention away from the present moment to the future and we grow anxious. Some of us form dreams around some degree, admission to a prestigious college, a job, settling abroad, money, positions, power, or certain relationships. We get so fixated on these dreams that our minds are constantly filled with imagining the future and whenever we feel any challenge to the fulfillment of our dreams, we become anxious and stressed. Our attention remains constantly on the imagined future. The more we get fixated on past possessions or future dreams, the less of our attention is available to attend to the present moment. Since reality exists only in the present moment, we lose connection with reality and start watching the horror movies being played in the theatre of the mind. That is the biggest cause of our suffering. I strongly feel that each one of us is the creator of our own happiness or suffering. The more we focus on the present, the happier we are. Even if the circumstances, family we are born into, the relatives, wealth, and health, may not always be our choice, what we wish to focus on is completely our choice.
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