Is happiness overrated?

As soon as a child is born, his parents teach him what happiness is to make his stop crying. For a child, toys, cartoons or toffees can be a source of happiness. But as we grow our hopes of happiness grow along with us. We rush for staying on top of the class or be the first to finish the race because then everyone admires us which makes us happy. For us, the ideal way to be happy is to keep getting more and more for ourselves. The more we have the more we think we may be happy, but have you ever thought what will happen if you don’t get what you want? Sadness, depression or heartbreak is what follows.

Gautam Buddha was a Prince and beloved son of his family. He only knew happiness since he had all the wealth and everyone loved him, until one day he went on around in his village. He saw an old man dying of starvation, nobody to look after him and holding nothing in his hands. That was the moment that made him a philosopher, mendicant, meditator, spiritual teacher, and religious leader. That is when he chose peace over happiness. Why pursue a plate full of 10 dishes when you can survive on a piece of bread and water? What we should understand is that running behind happiness can make you restless and greedy.  This is not a fault in you or a mistake of yours that you keep finding happiness. This is the belief that society is spreading and we are just caught up in it.

Take your time and find peace in everything you are doing. Completing your project is not the goal, completing it the way you wanted and enjoying every moment of it is the goal. That is how you give up on finding happiness and pursue eternal peace. Raise your child to find peace and happiness will follow. Happiness is overrated but there is nothing wrong to be happy once in a while, but give more than you take.