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