FORMULA 1 OF HAPPINESS














"To be without some of the things you want," said Bertrand Russel, " is an indispensable part of happiness.”

"To be without some of the things you want"?

Well, that's not happiness... but, it's a part... It comes with the 'happiness package'.

Invariably, all of us are in a constant pursuit of happiness... And, it is not an hyperbole, if I say, that we all hope to find it in things that we want... 

So, we think: Happiness comes when a great job comes along... when our dream house and car come  along... when marriage happens, when children are born... when they get high grades in school... when they come home with trophies... when our names, our loved ones' names make happy headlines... Yes, for most of us, happiness comes when the things that we desire come... 

That's when the Russell's statement, too, comes in... 

Life cannot be separated from struggle... the setbacks, disappointments and sorrow. Those are the things that we 'do not want' in life... Nobody wants. But, Life gives them to us in various doses... Some of us get more, some of us less... And, some, like Michael Schumacher and his family... well, I leave it to you to think!

The Formula 1 race is one of world's most daring - insanely fast and furious - championship events. And, Michael Schumacher had won the world championship seven times! God had graced him with enviable physical beauty... lovely wife and children, too. Money, fame and success, and, yes, happiness, were showered upon him and his family in abundance... 

The Formula 1 race can be fatal. But, imagine this: Michael's life, at the glorious peak of it, took an unbelievably-tragic turn: While skiing in the French Alps, his head hit a rock; and, despite the helmet he was wearing, this freak accident left him with a fatal brain-injury. He was, soon, put on a medically-induced coma... It was 2013. Life carried a different meaning to him and his family, ever since... 







Michael Schumacher was, is and will be a great champ. He will be remembered as a fighter for years to come... 

An hour ago, a friend of mine had shared this Post, and brought alive the memories of the great champion and the lesson on happiness his life has, unwittingly, left behind. Here is the Post by an anonymous author:

Sometimes I start
      doing an evaluation
      of my life.

🔵 In one of those, I
      came across the
     story of
     Michael Shumacher.

🔵 He was the winner of
     the Grand Prix in 1991.

🔵 He was seven times
       world champion of
       Formula 1.

🔵 Happiness was in his
      being...
      But in one fateful day 
      his story and his
      destiny completely
      changed due to an
      accident ....

🔵 Today, with just 44
       kilos of weight
       struggling to "survive"
       since December
       2013.

🔵 His wife begins to
      sell the goods to
      cover the expenses
      for keeping him alive,
      in an adapted room in
      their house, where he
      lies like a vegetable.

🔵 Here I ask myself a
      question:

🔵 Who is better than
      whom?

🔵 Life can take
      directions never
      imagined.

🔵 It's amazing how
      everything can
      change in an
      INSTANT.

🔵 No one is exempt
      from anything.

🔵 And in such
      circumstances are
      they of any use?
      Inteligence,
      Money,
      Titles,
      Fame,
      Success,
      Power...

🔵 We are all the same!!

🔵 Then why the pride?

🔵 Why the arrogance?

🔵 Why the
       victimization?

🔵 Why so much
      attachments to
      material goods?

🔵 Do you think your
       version is the
       absolute truth?

🔵 All we have is TODAY.
       So that we can
       live it with passion,
       enjoy ourselves
       to the fullest, doing
       good, serving others
       and be full of joy.

🔵 We need to STOP
      creating problems,
      claim insignificant
      things, and 
      AVOID anything that
      "takes our lives".

🔵 Be careful not to lose
      someone who loves
      you and accepts you
      as you are.

🔵 As in the game of
      chess, in the end both
      the King and the
      Pawn are kept in the
      same box.

🔵 It is worth examining
      what we have done.

🔵 We are born without
      bringing anything ...
     we die without taking 
     anything! 
     Absolutely nothing!

🔵 And the sad thing is
      that in the interval
      between life and
      death, we fight for
      what we did not bring
      and 
      what we will not
      take!

(Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android)


In November 2017, Michael's daughter, Gina-Maria, posted an inspirational message urging his fans to keep their hope alive. She wrote on Instagram: "There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved #keepfighting."

Learning to accept what we do not want - when Life gives them to  us - is 'Peace'...

Sending you our love and prayers, Champ! 


GERALD D'CUNHA

Pics.:1. Metro 2. The Telegraph

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