Ask about the purpose of life for people around. Most people will tell you that it is to be happy. I wonder whether happiness is overrated. First, let's examine what happiness is. Is happiness about comforts? Do we feel unhappy when we are uncomfortable? Obviously yes. When we are sweating in summer, we feel happy after entering an air-conditioned room. When we are uncomfortable due to some pain, we feel happy after taking a painkiller. We feel uncomfortable due to the lack of money, and when we get money, we feel happy.
Let's re-examine this happiness. Once we enter the AC room, having suffered from heat stroke, or get relief from pain, or get money, we naturally feel happy. But, isn't that happiness just for a few moments? If this is true happiness, all the people working in the corporate world, who sit in AC rooms, should always be happy. All the people who do not have pain in their bodies should always be happy. All the people who have earned sufficient money should always be happy. But that's not reality. We see that the majority of patients undergoing the treatment of psychological diseases and suffering from stress have all these things in their lives. That means we need to examine further.
Now, let's examine an athlete or a football player who has to undergo extreme physical exercises and stress his body beyond the imagination of a normal human being to participate in the Olympics. He chose the same pain that we were trying to get rid of and felt happy after taking the painkiller. He chooses to sweat every day instead of comfortably sitting in the AC room. Think of a philanthropist who chooses to spend money for the welfare of the people around, rather than earning money from them. What are all these people getting by choosing pain, discomfort, and spending money for the welfare of others? You ask any of them, and they will tell with conviction how happy they are. It is because their happiness is not temporary like the relief from pain.
What makes them happy? To the best of my understanding, what makes us happy is the exploration of possibilities. There are infinite possibilities around us to explore. Most of us become limited and confine ourselves within the four walls of our ego. It is all about "me, my beliefs, and mine". Once we are confined within these four walls, we keep either begging, negotiating, trading, or grabbing what we feel will make the world within these four walls happier. On the contrary, reality is that the more we confine our existence to these four walls, the more insecure and vulnerable we become, and the more restless and stressed we feel within these four walls. On the other hand, the people who challenge these four walls and start exploring new possibilities, by either exploring nature, testing the boundaries of their physical strength, or connecting to fellow human beings, allow that consciousness to guide them. They dare to enter the domain of the unknown because they have learn to observe and have faith in their observation. They are like the trekkers and hikers who freely explore the mountains as opposed to the tourists who seek the most comfortable hotels and want to cover all the tourist points most visited by other people. Exploration expands us. Comforts make us narrow. Narrowness brings insecurity, while expansion brings true happiness. Exploration feels like unravelling the hidden aspects of self, and with each exploration, we feel like knowing ourselves better.
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