Happiness depends upon ourselves, says Aristotle in his Nichomachean Ethics. But in this globalised society of Mammon worship and consumerism the above statement seems out of place in the scheme of things.
Amassing more and more wealth, possessing all modern gadgetry and hankering after things our neighbour has has become for us the sole source of happiness, but at the end of the day happiness, as usual, remains elusive and distant as ever.
We seek but do not get. Search but do not find. For every day we try a different thing to find happiness in. What should be within we seek outside.
Zooming in front a showroom we catch sight of a new happiness clad item and securing it becomes an enterprise, albeit, the item seems to be beyond our pockets reach .We cut corners, strain our body to work extra hours to buy the happiness in the latest fancy item, but once it comes in our reach, suddenly the halo of happiness with which the item was shining suddenly seems to be fading. The panacea of all quandary seems to be a thing of metal and plastic.
Our hunt for the all abstract thing starts afresh. Now getting hold of the new car which our neighbour has recently bought pops up in our priority list. We assure our self of every joy once we are through in this new project. We expose ourselves to every moral and immoral act to have the new item in the reach of our funds, but once again are disillusioned and the cycle starts anew. This seeking-failing-seeking sequence looks as if to dog us our whole life.
In this mad pursuit of cheerfulness we seem to be oblivious of one thing that since long happiness has been occupying the corner of our room chuckling at our idiocy of seeking it in the outer world of materialism and cupidity. We are unconscious of the fact that most beautiful and valuable things in life come free of cost and un-tagged profusion.
Love, contentment, happiness all surround us no matter if we have the money we deem necessary to purchase them. In this respect our approach matters the most. Our attitude should be like that of an artist who paints or elevates the beauty of a maiden in his verse without having the burning desire to possess the same. His assessment luxuriates him with happiness which even doesnt exist in the first place.
Next time you come home calm after sighting a branded item on display in the showroom infront of your workplace you have started realizing your dream of being happy. Once we have mastered the art of admiring things without the smouldering desire of custody we, perhaps, transcend into the realms of happiness and contentment.
Author is pursuing MPhil English at KU. Feedback: [email protected]
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