THE BUTTERFLY CALLED HAPPINESS

 




“Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued,

is always beyond our grasp;

but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

Many years ago, when I first heard the statement, “Happiness cannot be a goal,” I remember asking - “Why not?”

After all, happiness is what we all are longing for… striving for, right? Then, what is the difficulty in making it our goal?

Frankly, ‘Happiness’ falls in the long list of ‘little things’ – just some simple, random, unplanned things in our daily lives. The list of our ‘big things’ is always short… It is complicated, concrete and planned. Little things do not call for strenuous effort… We do not have to strive for them. They are there… We just need to see them, embrace them. On the other hand, the ‘big things’… yes, the more we pursue them, the more they elude us… like the opening quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne:


“Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued,

is always beyond our grasp;

but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

 

Before I am misunderstood, let me make it clear: I, too, am a strong believer in setting goals and striving for them. Our achievements and accomplishments are the outcome of our pursuit of goals. But, experience has, also, taught me, that our ‘Happiness’ cannot be the outcome of such pursuits…

It took some time for me to realize this reality… That, happiness comes along the way, and not at the end of our journey. It cannot be a ‘station’ in life… It is the journey itself. It reminds us of a similar pearl of wisdom:


“Life is what happens to us,

when we are busy making our ‘other plans’.”




 

Therefore, happiness is what happens to us as we are busy pursuing our ‘other goals’… The butterfly called ‘Happiness’ simply comes and sits on us, when we learn to sit down quietly, without trying to pursue her…

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic.: getty images

Video: Eserior brothers

 

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