I prefer reading inspirational writings of people who have lived predominantly selfless lives - people who gave a great deal of themselves to society; who had the option to live comfortably yet chose discomfort (as some would perceive it) for larger good.
What makes selfless people so different from the rest of us? One wonders, does it matter if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, man or woman? Are selfless people sad or happy people? What is their source of sustained strength? What is their state of mind? Where did their training come from? Are they born with the propensity to act selflessly or did they learn it by trial and error?
All persons whom we tend to admire and want to see and be with, are those whom we have known to remain happy, naturally. Nothing seems to disturb them. They are truly happy within and without. They are not dependent on material acquisitions, nor do they depend on other people to come and make them happy. On the contrary, people seek them out. It could be happiness as they believe it to be...
As i have understood - from reading what these inspirational persons write - happiness is not external. It is truly internal. It is not something they buy or borrow. Nor is it fleeting. It is in their own state of 'minding' which they choose to remain in. And for that state of mind to be integral to them, they gradually schooled, graduated, and mastered the art in such a way that it became 'them'. Even after mastering they remain aware of their learning in such a way that happiness becomes a part of their 'self'. They 'become joy' and 'joy becomes them'.
We, too, can learn from them and begin in small ways to follow the path of living in happiness. It has been said that the longest journey begins with the first step. Happiness, too, is a constant journey of the mind, a journey that we choose to undertake and then stay on. Each moment the mind journeys it will constantly decide to remain on course - first by conscious awareness, then by habit. The mind stays alert on what impacts inner joy and how it constantly rejuvenates itself by self-watch.
Having been a sportsperson i am aware that a holiday of one day practice takes one back by three days. So is it with mindfulness. We in our daily lives encounter many (negative) stress-giving situations for which we are not always responsible. There are several kinds of reactions such a situation can evoke: Become unhappy, get angry, fret, frown, become moody, curse and blame others, or nurse retaliation and negative emotions. Or does the mind tell us to do whatever one can do and move on? And even if it warns us, do we listen to it and let it direct our subsequent responses?
Just as a well-tended garden cannot be so without a caring gardener, so, too, a happy human being has a well-tended mind - a mind which constantly self-cares and self-generates joy. It is independent and self-dependent. It gives and reaches out whenever needed, without any declarations. It remains grateful for anything it receives without seeking. And gives away without any asking. It is always there and yet is elsewhere. Empty, yet full. By Kiran Bedi