I was interacting with my fish vendor yesterday evening and noticed her child wasn't cheerful. This young chap is always happy, helping at his mom's shop, so I was curious why he was just there, looking like something terrible had happened to him. I called him closer to ask what's wrong, and he revealed that his mother didn't want him to attend the school graduation party.
I immediately knew it was because of financial reasons, and the mother proved me right, complaining about how expensive the fee was. To my surprise, Daniel said he wasn't asking her to pay; he just wanted to attend because he was sure about getting a prize for being among the top students in his class. I didn't have a choice but to join him in persuading the mother to allow him, since that was his wish.
She didn't like the idea but eventually agreed, and this young boy went dancing around in the shop. He was so happy, and it reminded me of childhood, when even the slightest of things made us happy. Back then, we didn't care about fancy food or clothes as long as we weren't naked and our bellies were filled. I remembered a particular day I took cassava flakes as breakfast before going to school, and it didn't change anything.
Many of us grew up under worse conditions, and we were still happy kids, but so many things have changed between then and now. A lot of people barely experience happiness in their lives today, and it baffles me how we suddenly forgot how to be happy. Sometimes, I wonder if we've really forgotten or if the criteria and societal standards for happiness have gone beyond our reach.
If we go about asking people why they aren't happy, there will be countless reasons, and that's where it all begins. I was once in this shoe, focusing and attaching happiness to material things, comparing myself with people, and they weren't helping. I spent most of my days brooding, and it just placed a heavy weight on me, forcing me to remain unhappy because I thought there was nothing to be happy about if I couldn't achieve somethings or meet up with my peers' success.
Just like that, many focus too much on problems and gradually lose our grip on things that should naturally make us happy. We aren't the first people to encounter problems, and we won't be the last; the challenges and struggles are part of what we must navigate through in life, but allowing them to steal happiness from us makes no sense.
Little did people know that happiness doesn't end with just smiling; it's a catalyst that boosts our overall well-being and quality of life. When in a happy state, we function better and can achieve a lot with the feeling so instead of looking too far in search of happiness, what about looking within us?
Those little wins and beautiful moments in our lives are enough to make us happy. Family, doing the things we love, showing kindness to others are things that we shy away from but can make us happy genuinely.
I will never forget the day a dog was trying to take her puppy out of a deep drainage in the neighborhood. I was heading out and couldn't take my mind off the dog's struggle . I immediately called my younger sibling to come over there; I carefully put him in the drainage, and we successfully pulled the dogs out. Every time I pass through the street and see the dog, it makes me happy, no matter what's bothering me.
Finding happiness or staying happy shouldn't be an issue if we look in the right direction for it. Many youths today won't be struggling with depression if they understand that happiness can come from even the smallest of actions and not just luxury or big achievements.
It would do us a lot of good if we can rediscover happiness by embracing the simple and meaningful things around us. Meanwhile, choosing to be happy despite having challenges doesn't prevent us from trying to overcome our challenges. Instead, it can give us resilience and motivation to tackle those challenges effectively.
All Image Are Mine.