The Easterlin Paradox, formulated by Richard Easterlin formulated in 1974, describes the evident contradiction between increased national wealth and increased average happiness levels. While individuals with higher incomes tend to report higher happiness levels within a specific time frame, a country’s average happiness does not necessarily increase over time as its overall income grows.  We apply common corelation between accumulated wealth and happiness.  People with higher incomes tend to be happier than those with lower incomes.

Despite the positive correlation within a point in time, the average happiness levels in a country do not consistently increase as the country’s overall income rises. This is the paradoxical part: while individuals may be happier at higher income levels, the overall happiness level of a country doesn’t necessarily follow fit as the country’s income grows. 

Richard Easterlin, then professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania is the first economist to study happiness data. The paradox states that at a point in time happiness varies directly with income both among and within nations, but over time happiness does not trend upward as income continues to grow. Higher incomes don’t produce greater happiness over time. One explanation is that one’s happiness depends on a variety of other factors such as family and social connect, pollution less environment, hobbies of life, sufficient food, get together with friends etc.

In the short run, everyone perceives increases in income to be correlated with happiness and tries to increase their incomes. However, in the long run, this proves to be an illusion, since everyone’s efforts to raise standards of living lead to increasing averages, leaving everyone in the same place in terms of relative income. Various theories have been advanced to explain the paradox, but the paradox itself is solely an empirical theory. The existence of the paradox has been strongly disputed by other researchers.

Richard Easterlin has updated the evidence and description of the paradox over time. His most recent contribution is from 2022. This article is corelation between Easterlin’s Paradox and happiness index.  

According to the World Happiness Report and various other sources, Finland is consistently ranked as the happiest country in the world. In the 2025 report, Finland has been ranked number one for the eighth year in a row. Possibly, this happiness comes because Finns enjoy simple pleasures like clean air, pure water and walking around the woods, they enjoy their lives to the fullest. They enjoy a calm and peaceful life. it’s their appreciation for how things work and the ability to pause and admire the little things in life. In Finland, anyone can pick berries, collect mushrooms or fish with a simple fishing rod. It is part of  each citizen’s rights, which state that everyone is free to enjoy nature responsibly. Finland is cleanest in the world. The food that grows wild is delicious and fresh. Finding the luxury produce in the wild  like porcini mushrooms or cloud berries is considered a delightful moment and makes for an even more heavenly dinner. Finnish happiness is explained by the high levels of trust and freedom in its society, which research shows contributes to well-being and productivity.

In the 2025 World Happiness Report, Afghanistan consistently ranks as the unhappiest country in the world. Specifically, in the 2025 report, it is ranked 147th out of 147 countries. This ranking indicates that Afghanistan has the lowest happiness score and experiences the most frequent negative emotions, as well as the lowest frequency of positive emotions. 

The World Happiness Index Report is an annual publication of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network which contains rankings of national happiness and analysis of the data from various perspectives. The first World Happiness Report was released in April 2012. In a high-level meeting of UN well-being and Happiness were defined as new economic paradigms which drew international attention.

An Internet report suggested that if you want happiness, buy a scarf and gloves and head to Norway to experience real happiness.  Norway is well-known for its good public services and political stability. Denmark is another country which is famous for happiness nurtured in its culture. Danes have a stable government, little public corruption, and access to high-quality education and health care. The country does have the highest taxes in the world, but the citizens happily pay the taxes because they believe higher taxes can create a better society. Let’s understand what Happiness Index is.

What makes people of a country happy? Is it economy? Is it environment? Is it education? Is it government policies? We’ll all of these do contribute to people’s happiness in a country. But it is not necessary to be higher economic pace and growth always. People are happier when they don’t experience inequality in distribution of wealth; people don’t mind paying taxes when there is fairness in tax structure. People are happy when government practices transparency in the implementing policies. People want safety, people want welfare, people want gooinfrastructure, hygiene and people want good quality education.

Corruption undermines government revenue and, therefore, limits the capacity of the government to invest in productive areas.  Corruption distorts the decision-making in public investment projects. It’s been observed the higher the level of corruption in a country, the larger the share of its economic activity that will go subversive, beyond the reach of the tax authorities. Corruption discourages entrepreneurship and innovation; it only encourages inefficiency. It dislocates the human resources.  It creates uncertainty among the citizens. And it diminishes legitimacy in all walks of life and increases crimes.

In all countries there are rich and poor; but when the levels of inequality are low, and the welfare systems are strong, the citizens are happy. People don’t mind paying higher taxes for living a happier life.

The report primarily uses data from the Gallup World Poll. Gallup is a credible polling organization. It is respected highly in media. Nevertheless, all research including polling have some weaknesses which depend on the various methodologies and details of the poll and its questionnaires. Each research has few statistical limitations. Gallup ensures that each annual report is available to the public to download on the World Happiness Report website.

Happiness index is measured using parameters like Housing, Income, Work, Community, Civic Engagement, Education, Environment, Health, Life Satisfaction, Safety and Life-Work balance etc. Each report is organized by chapters that delve deeper into issues relating to happiness. The chapters also include mental illness, the objective benefits of happiness, the importance of ethics, policy implications which lead to subjective wellbeing. The report is based on how strong a country’s social foundation and social trust is.

Bhutan is one of the Buddhist Kingdoms in the World and so far, has preserved much of their culture since the 17th century. Even with globalization, Bhutan follows its Buddhist culture. It allows a certain number of foreigners into the country each year, and the two hundred dollars a day that must be paid by every traveller is a deterrent for many. Internet, television, and western dress were banned from the country up until ten years ago. But over the past ten years globalization has proved to be a challenge to this tiny nation. Things have begun to change, but they are trying to balance things in their own way.

Bhutan is the only country in the world that has a ‘GNH’ which is “Gross National Happiness.” The process of measuring GNH began when Bhutan opened to globalization. It measures people’s quality of life and makes sure that both material and spiritual development happen together in its citizen’s lives. Bhutan has balanced it rightly so far

Conclusion

Happiness is very important to both individuals and as a country. A happy individual is productive and creative. As human beings, although we possess cognitive abilities and are highly “thought” oriented, the quality of our lives is determined by our emotions. The Easterlin Paradox states happiness varies directly with income, both among and within nations, but over time the long-term growth rates of happiness and income are not significantly related. The principal reason for the contradiction is social comparison. A happy human is emotionally strong because happiness protects heart, it strengthens immune system, it helps in combating stress, it found that happy people have fewer aches and pains. The idea that “money can’t buy happiness” is a widely held belief, often attributed to the belief that true happiness comes from things like relationships, personal fulfilment, and a sense of purpose. .  In  the World Happiness Report 2025, India is ranked 118th out of 147 countries.

The festival is celebrated to enjoy the triumphant return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya, after his voluntary exile of 14 years. The people of Ayodhya welcomed Rama by illuminating the capital with lights. Lord Rama is said to have governed for a long time during which the people were happy and contented. This festival is also celebrated as Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakaasura; the demon’s mother, Mother Earth, requested that the occasion be celebrated as one of euphoria. Lord Krishna agreed to her wishes and, since then, the celebration has continued with lights, crackers, sweets and festivity.

Diwali brings the light of happiness, togetherness, spiritual enlightenment and prosperity for one and all. The lighting of lamps is a way of paying obeisance to God for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace, bravery and fame. Crackers are burnt because their sounds kill bad-omens. The festival of Diwali fills the air with a sensation of goodness and a blissful atmosphere. The reality is that this festival denotes festivity to life….it signifies that life is nothing but a festival, because when you are unhappy, you also throw unhappiness all around and when you are happy you spread happiness all around.

People express their cheerfulness by lighting earthen lamps (diyas), people wear new clothes, share sweets, decorate the houses, burst firecrackers and inviting near and dear ones to their homes for participating in their happiness.

The celebration is about fear, anger, jealousy accumulated in your mind in the last one year should get suspended, should get washed away. Hence, people make new resolutions and new beginnings on the eve of Diwali.

Let us pray to the Goddess Laxmi to lead us from untruth to truth, from darkness to light and from death to immortality!!!

Social scientists have shown in many studies for past few decades that caring touch can have good effects in several different mental and physical problems. Consider this case: a doctor hugged his patient who survived a complicated surgery of six hours; when the patient regained his consciousness after surgery, the doctor felt so happy, he gave the patient a gentle hug.   

A hug is a universal and widely accepted ways to show our affection and love. It communicates many emotions that words fail to express. There are different types of hugs that express different emotions. When you feel low, angry, distressed, or sad, a quick squeeze or hug is all you need to lift your mood.

Hugging helps lower our stress throughout the day. Hugging a person is one of the most natural and emotional physical touches one can have with others. It gives us a sense of security and makes us feel loved and cared for. There are many different types of hugs one can coddle in; few are romantic while others are just friendly, they are emotional and supportive. For example, a side hug is friendly; hugging from behind portrays intimacy; in a friendly hug two people engage in arm-hug; hugging around the waist is romantic; a bear hug is for warmth; one-sided hug shows caring.  And there are many unseen benefits of hugging; the biggest is boosting of dopamine hormone which is ‘feel good’ hormone and in case of loving hug, oxytocin hormone boosts feeling of love.

Research shows that hugs can be healthy. Hugs cause a decrease in the release of cortisol, a stress hormone, and another research indicates that hugs decrease our blood pressure and heart rate in stressful situations. The stress-reducing effects of hugging keeps us healthier. In a study of over 400 adults, researchers found that hugging reduces the percentage of falling sick. From childhood to old age people who are hugged by near and dear ones stay healthy.

According to one study, it takes merely 7 seconds of a hug for our brain to signal the release of oxytocin hormone that is associated with, amongst other things, increased levels of trust, calmness, and creativity. Hugging often creates a feeling of calmness and relaxation. That’s because of oxytocin which is sometimes called the “cuddle hormone.” Oxytocin is released when people or pets snuggle up or bond socially. This release can have a domino effect throughout the body and has been found to reduce inflammation, improve wound healing, it lessens cravings for drugs, alcohol, and sweets and lowers heart rate and stress. Domino effect is a situation in which one event causes a series of related events, one following another.

Getting a firm, reassuring hug before or during a stressful event, such as waiting to receive the results of a medical test, waiting for an examination result, waiting to receive a near and dear one at station, can help you stay calm because your oxytocin levels remain elevated.  A hug a day may, in fact, keep the doctor away.

They make us happier. An assuring hug is much better than gulping anti-depressants. Hugging triggers the release of serotonin in the brain to create happiness and ease sadness.  They Help deepen our relationships. As human, we automatically want to hug those we know are in pain. In many ways, hugs are a form of meditation. They allow us to be present in the moment, to let go and flow with the energy of the embrace. It’s easy to forget how meaningful a hug can be, but it can truly deepen your connection with another person. Hugs convey, in a nonverbal way, an understanding of each other.

Humans and dogs have been together since primitive times, and both have a primal need for physical touch. All monkeys, from chimpanzees to Japanese macaques (snow monkeys) to humans, are hard-wired to console others and transmit affection by hugging. Even a reptile, a hen, and a fish look enjoy some human affection. Bears, koalas, deer, elephant, and even birds such as parrots, crows, pigeons, sparrows, peacocks love human touch. Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose showed that plants can experience sensations and feel pleasure and pain. Like birds and animals, plants also respond to human touch.  

Don’t underestimate the healing power of a hug. Just as we exercise to stay in shape and diet to stay healthy, we should make the effort to stay connected to the people. We can never get enough hugs. They are priceless gifts of unconditional love because a hug communicates a thousand words.

We all sensible people in world agree that good relationships are the foundation for success in all areas of our life. But, rarely do we realise that it begins with our relationship with our own self. If we do not love our own self completely with all the strengths and weaknesses by ensuring whether our own needs are met or not, we will find it difficult to accept others, love others and help out other around us.

Your relationship with yourself is arguably the most important relationship in life. Self-relationship is the foundation of everything else including philanthropy.  One’s relationship with oneself is crucial and needs to be built like many other relationships in life.  Healthy self-love is most essential. How you value yourself as a person, how you embrace yourself with all the good and the bad in you, your self-relationship, how much you trust yourself is very important in building your life and relationships with others in your life. Ironically, the most selfless thing you can do is to be self-cantered.

The time you spend with yourself is very important; spending time alone is actually a good thing for building your relationship with yourself. Some crucial studies have shown that having more me time has benefits such as increasing productivity, contentment, gratitude and empathy. It doesn’t matter what you do in that me time, as long as you are doing it alone. Please understand that me time does not mean trying to change the way we live our lives for other people. It means allowing ourselves to be truly seen for who we are. It means letting go of feeling that we have to be someone that we are not or trying to speak or act in a way that doesn’t feel affiliated for us.

Me time is a term which has been popularized by all forms of the media geared towards issues of female interest, more particularly in women’s magazines. The idea is that, amidst the stress of 21st century life, a woman finds it increasingly difficult to spend time which is exclusively for her and is not intruded upon by the non-stop demands of work and family. Me time, is a period of time when a woman can put herself first and do something that she particularly enjoys to aid relaxation and revival. This might be as simple as having a bubble bath, sitting down with a cup of tea, listening to some most precious songs, painting or drawing, or going on a trip to the gym or a weekend away. Though not used exclusively with reference to women, this term lies heavily in the female domain. But, it is also means equally the same for men.

The time a person has to himself or herself, in which to do something for his or her own enjoyment is refreshing. Unplug yourself, ban all electronics, social media, email and phone calls for a set amount of time, and instead read a book or magazine, go for a walk, or simply stare out the window and daydream.

Being alone can help you build mental strength. Solitude is important. Studies show the ability to tolerate alone time has been linked to increased happiness and improved stress management. People who enjoy alone time experience less depression. Can you imagine how many people are scared to live alone and therefore they cling on to wrong relationships? This is a fact.  

Me-time increases empathy. It increases your productivity.  Although many organizations offices have started creating open floor plans so everyone can communicate more easily, some studies show being surrounded by people kills productivity. People perform better when they are left alone in their privacy.

Me-time helps you to plan your life. It helps you to know yourself better. Being alone helps you become more comfortable in your own skin. When you are by yourself, you can make choices without outside influences. And that will help you develop better insight about who you are as a person. Start scheduling me-time as often as you can.

Once off the coast of San Francisco, a female humpback whale got entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands and radioed for help (sent message by radio). Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so badly off; the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, which was a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was freed, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, nudged them, and pushed gently, thanking them. They said it was the most extremely beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

Imagine how many times we have been fortunate, when we were entangled in some bad situation, yet been surrounded by people who helped us get untangled from it. Let us recall if we have thanked those angels enough……

The joy of giving and receiving gratitude is so significant in our lives.

Thank you is a small expression but it makes wonders because it expresses one of our most basic emotions – gratitude. It is not an abstraction, gratitude is a genuine emotion. It cannot be exacted or forced. You either feel it or you don’t. Yet, when someone does something nice for you, they expect gratitude. It is a mechanical human reaction.  And, people think less of you if you withhold it. Think about the last time you gave someone a gift. If they didn’t say thank you, how did you feel about them; ill mannered, or ungrateful, or S.O.B.? Everyone loves to be appreciated and noticed. Everyone wants to be recognized for their good deeds. In my opinion, being thankful is the key to making connections with other people. It is also the key to being happy with yourself and others.

I really enjoy when people admire me or acknowledge me. It feels good. It makes me feel like I have succeeded in whatever they expected of me. I’m sure to a certain degree, you do too. People feel great when others care about them; these are universal desires of humans. Knowing all that is easier said than done. For some people, it is tough to appreciate others; they take other’s love and warmth for granted and they forget to show gratitude.

The fact is, we are living in a day when many are not thankful for anything. Selfishness, stinginess and meanness mar the basic feeling of gratitude. Children learn the basic characters from parents; teaching children when they are young to be thankful is a difficult assignment which too many parents ignore, therefore, children feel that being selfish is standard.  Being thankful seems to be a lost skill set in the world today.  Not only do many children grow up without manners, they grow up without any regard to being thankful to the ones that even brought them into the world.

Once you start being grateful for all the little things as well as the big things, in life you will start to see a change in that you and you will be blessed with more things to be thankful for. When we focus on those things which we have in our lives, we automatically stop cribbing for things which we don’t have. This alone improves the quality of life.

Expressing gratitude is important to our daily and healthy existence, so please take the time to say thank you. It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy.

Why should we lead our lives the way society dictates? Great question! On various platforms we discuss this fact with reference of the profound work done by sociologists for hundreds of years.
It is quite difficult to live life in our own exclusive way, with no external laws, mandates, cultural norms, or otherwise and influential entities. Most of us are used to follow the societal rules and regulations and we feel secured that way.

But, we often see people who do live their own lives the way they want, they prodigiously live their lives without bothering for society dictates. They sometimes even rebel against societal norms and are happy with their own selves. While most of us crave for acceptance from people around us, there are few who have an almost irrefutable mandate to live their lives according to their own feelings and self-made norms. I like to mention here Kangana Ranaut’s free spirited Tanu from the film ‘Tanu weds Manu’. She is fearless and carefree. Non-fussy and lovable. Straight-forward and easy going. No wonder Manu falls for her and decides that if he ever marries, he will marry Tanu.

In my own personal journey of trying to be a better person, I realized that it was all about aiming to be happy. Nothing more, nothing less. When you are happy, you are effectively better in every aspect of your life. The second realization which came to me is that happiness comes from detaching the redundant things in life, as in you need to stop caring about certain things. You don’t have to be rude and hurting someone to be yourself. It’s simple you think that what others think of you is their problem, not yours. You don’t get influenced by other people’s opinions and prefer to make your own. That’s great!

Tackle the toxic people: It’s not that these people are physiologically toxic, but mentally they are.  They like to create drama in their lives or be surrounded by it; they try to manipulate or control others; they use others to fulfill their needs; they gossip unnecessarily, badmouth people in their absence; they are jealous and envious of others, lamenting their bad fortune and others’ good fortune; in short they are dangerous people to be with. They sap your good energy. If you can’t avoid them, keep them at a healthy distance. Best is dump them. It’s time to create a positive environment for yourself.

Happy people gain happiness from simple things around them; they enjoy the simplicities of life.   This is an amazing aspect which most people overlook. If you’re feeling unhappy, take a look around. Sometimes it’s the people that are just dragging you down. People who want to be happy don’t expect anything in return from others; they let go of anything in return. That’s how they never get disappointed. They do things for the sake of doing things. Help others for the sake of being compassionate. They feel nice about added positivity in other’s lives. Cheerful people don’t cry over spilt milk. They just don’t see logic in brooding over past issues. You see loneliness doesn’t kill people who choose to be happy; they stay contended in their own company. Great philosophers have said that if one can stay happy in his own company, you need not worry about other things. In fact, it’s scary to be left alone.  People can’t live alone….they look for company of someone. We don’t realize that that the ‘me time’ that is spending time with your own self is very important.

Another thing is can you leave your work, status, complaints and achievements in your office and not carry it along with you everywhere?  If you don’t, it’s going to percolate into your everyday life and you’d end up feeling tired, bored or stressed out. What matters more is your happiness, your passion and outlook on life. If you are allowing your job to take over any of that would only mean you are terribly concerned and are allowing a label to define who you are. Think about it – you are something more than your professional label. You are limiting your identity.

Travel, break away from your monotonous life. Breathe fresh air, see new places. Get absorbed in the new city, new place. See the heritage sites, visit the beaches, gardens, forests, see the magnificent architecture, monuments there is so much to see in this beautiful world! Stop stressing over petty things. Be sure of what you want to do, stop taking other people’s opinions too seriously. Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you might realize that you could have been happier.

For over 40 years East Berlin was controlled by the communists. West Berlin was free. One day some people who lived in East Berlin took a truck-load of garbage and dumped it on the West Berlin side. The people of West Berlin could have reacted by doing the same thing. But, instead they took a truckload of canned goods, bread, and milk and neatly stacked it on the East Berlin side. On top of this stack of food they placed the sign: ‘Each gives what he has.’

Life can get very busy, taxing, blissful, most happening, fast and grim. Occasionally, living can become a challenge as life seems to throw us in the corner or deep end. In times like that, what matters the most is, how we handle the situation. A word of hope form somebody, a voice that assures that it will get better makes the difference. Our thoughts and our actions can help in lessening darkness, and rise strength to carry on. We give what we have. Yes, when we are happy, we spread happiness and when we are low, we spread blues. But the fact is, we chose to be happy or sad, regardless of what surrounds us.

There are people like Dr. Prakash Baba Amte and his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte. The couple’s contribution to society is untold. I think, Dr. Amte and his wife are inspiration to the world and are the quintessence of self-actualization. After finishing his degree in medicines, Prakash’s father Baba Amte, took him on a picnic to Hemalkasa, which became a turning point in Prakash’s life. He felt terribly restless seeing that, while people had reached the moon, there were people living worse than life of animals. In Hemalkasa, the most basic things to live – food, clothing, medical help and shelter were not available. Dr.Prakash decided to become a part of Hemalkasa people.

Dr. Mandakini and Prakash loved each other from college days. Leaving her luxurious life behind, she accompanied Prakash without any condition. This is where the real story begins in the dense forest of Hemalkasa. They struggled with tribal, wild animals, Naxalites and corrupt government officials. Today, after four decades, Hemalkasa has become an example to the world. This is an example of ‘each gives what he has’.

I read this somewhere: there was a woman, nearly one hundred years old. She suffered from senile dementia and had lost most of her mind. But, the joy inside her from ten decades of choosing to be happy was hardwired into almost every remaining neuron that she had left. Every time someone was near, she automatically smiled and offered her hand in friendship. Almost everyone stopped to give her a warm hug. She would kiss people’s cheeks and whisper in their ears “I love you.” She personified the real beauty in woman, she was NOT sad, or in pain – she was far from it. She gave the world what she had in her – the happiness.

Life is full of good and bad things. Those who chose to be sad will forever overlook many good things and just keep amplifying the bad things in life. Generous people are quick to admit the world’s problems will never be solved by one person… and perhaps, never completely solved even in the future. But perfection does not slow them. To them, changing even one life within their sphere of influence is reward enough. And is a worthy endeavor to be sought. So do not take things to heart, and find solace in the thought that God ensures that everything happens for the best. Put your best effort in crisis situations, and react with intelligence and equanimity when the going gets tough.

When we chose to be happy, we naturally discover and amplify the good things in life. This releases our own “endorphins,” “enkephalins,” “dynorphins” (internally produced addictive opiates, analgesics, motivators and pain killers) and “oxytocin” (the social glue that bonds individuals together), https://clubgreenwood.com/CGstore/prednisone-online/. Our friends and those we love do NOT inject these “happiness chemicals” into us, WE generate and release our own feel-good chemistry as a “self-reward,” based on our attitude, personality, expectations, and our own self-fulfilling prophecies.

Health exercise (like rhythmic dancing) injects adrenalin into the mix, which further amplifies the effect of all of the good “cloud nine chemicals” that are racing through our happy, energized cardiovascular and central nervous systems. The habit of happiness makes us even happier. Happy thoughts, happy hearts and happy feet are really very neat!

Jadav “Molai” Payeng is a simple Mising tribesman (ethnic tribes in Assam) in India. He began planting seedlings on a barren sandbar in Jorhat district in 1979. Some 35 years later, he is credited with single-handedly planting and nurturing a forest that is bigger than Central Park in New York, in the Majuli Islan in Assam!! Mr. Payeng did not set out with an ambition to seek name and fame; rather, he was terribly touched by the massive disruptions of the island each year. But, in 1979 in the devastating floods caused by river Brahmaputra, which washed onshore a huge heap of garbage, hundreds of snakes were also washed up. The snakes died in the excess heat on that sandbar. Payeng could not withstand the sight; he was just 16 at the time. He is called ‘The Forest Man of India’ for his incredible devotion of cultivating a forest of 1,360 acres single handedly, with his own funds and labor.

When people who have chosen to be happy encounter unhappy situations, they take responsibility for doing something to make their life better. In contrast, sad people reject personal responsibility and claim that they are merely the product of a bad environment (bad parents, genes, bad schools, bad politicians, bad bosses, a bad world, etc.). Happiness activates analgesics that block some of our pain, while constant complaining amplifies pain harmfully and unnecessarily.

When considering poverty in the developing world, many people feel deep sorrow but conclude that there is nothing that we can do. The scale of poverty is immense and we seem powerless to stop it. Such despair is understandable, but the facts tell a very different story. While poverty is indeed extreme and widespread, but another fact cannot be ignored that there are double the size of well to do people in world and they are in the developed countries, and how powerfully our each one’s pockets can change the world when pooled together.

An apple tree gives apples, a berry tress gives berries. Its madness expecting apple tree to gives berries and vice versa. The apples and berries come from the essence of the tree and the essence of each tree is different. The fact is, with us, we bring our essence and with the essence works our experience in life. We can only give from our essence and what is in our essence.

In conclusion, we all have one life, which I compare to a movie. We play so many roles in this wonderful movie of our own life. Our roles include of student, spouse, sibling, child, parent, friend, professional, manager, advisor etc. In our own movie we are the singer, dancer, cinematographer, editor, director, the clapper boy…….. So, the smartness is in quick editing of the painful, bad scenes and experience the goodness of your own life, it’s all up to you, how beautiful or ugly movie you make out of it. Because, each one of us assumes and delivers his/her role every minute of every day. We give what we have.

We always think that we would be happier in a different set of circumstances which generally implies that we are not contended with our present conditions.  We keep cribbing about our job conditions saying that it is tedious, highly demanding, boss is not cooperative etc.; we look at some businessmen and think they are happier, they don’t have bosses, they can come and go any time; the neighbors’ wife is better-looking, she is more efficient, and his kids are more intelligent; in short when we compare our situations to other’s we feel repentant for self. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. The biggest trouble of mind is turning away from reality. In our anxiousness we get engrossed with thoughts of a different life, perhaps a better life somewhere else.

When problems occur in our life, we are taken over by envy, believing that other people have better things, they are happier than us and this thought makes us anxious. We want everything good, and this ‘good’ is an illusion, it is persecuted by the belief that we have so little.  We are taken over by greed, wanting more and more and more, feeling that what we have cannot ever be enough. Friends, by denying the goodness of our very own lives, we believe that we have nothing good to work with, this thought reduces the capacity to work with our strengths and the opportunities.  This is where we lose focus, self-confidence and hope.

Robert Fulghum, author of that classic book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” put it this way:  “The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. No, not at all. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you are.” The book is about our adult-world. The information which we receive corrupts our mind and there is very little educational value in what is disguised as education and sold to us. In reality, most of what we need to know to live good lives was already taught to us when we were in kindergarten. That, and only that is education. Everything else is a sales pitch. Isn’t it true?

We often say that we don’t know what it is that we are missing until it’s gone. We don’t realize how good our life was during our school days, until we are thrown into the workforce, and our parents cut us off our pocket money. We don’t come to understand how nice our childhood friends were until we meet shrewd people in later part of life, we don’t appreciate importance of a people until they leave us.

I think, the problem with having choices is that we become restless. We can’t settle for what we already have or be satisfied with what we’ve got because we will always be wondering about the next big thing. It’s called “the grass is always greener” syndrome. We think someone else is having a better time elsewhere. We make ourselves miserable by constantly thinking about the unknown in an endless quest to find happiness. We lie awake at night torturing ourselves over what we should do next, wondering if we’re missing out on something big. We feel we’re wasting our lives if we’re not doing something more important, and we are unable to define the ‘important’.

Mindfulness helps you to appreciate life as it happens; it stops us from agonizing over what might’ve been or what could be. It just brings us back to the present. Because happiness isn’t about where you live or the things you do. It isn’t about being on an impossible mission to do everything. Of course, have achievable goals in life, plan your strategies and achieve everything you ever dreamed. How you achieve it is by building a life around your current location. Making new friends, settling into a routine, finding ways in which to enjoy “the moment” rather than dwelling on all the things you could be doing or the places you could be visiting.

Remember that all we ever have is right now. Forget about the past. Don’t worry about the future. Take each day as it comes, and most of all, stop thinking that the grass is greener, because it never really is. Happiness is a state of mind.

Giri and Hari were neighbors; Giri was a poor farmer and Hari a rich landlord. Giri used to live a very relaxed and happy life and he thanked God for fulfilling his bare necessities. He was always in a happy state of mind. He was relaxed. He never bothered to close the doors and windows of his house at night. He used to have deep sound sleep. Although he had no money he was peaceful. His daily requirements were fulfilled from his small piece of land.

On the other hand, Hari used to be very anxious and stressed always. He used to close all windows and doors of his house every night, due to worry and stress that nobody should steal his wealth; thus, he could hardly sleep. He was always troubled that someone might break open his safe deposit box and steal away his money. Deep in his heart, he envied peaceful and carefree Giri.

One day, Hari called Giri to his house and gave him a boxful of cash saying, “Giri, my dear friend. I am blessed with affluence. I always feel that I should share some of my prosperity with you, kindly take this cash and live in prosperity.” Giri was tremendously happy. He was joyful throughout the day. As night fell, he went to bed as usual. But, that night, he could not sleep. He went and closed all doors and windows of the house. He could not sleep because he started feeling claustrophobic. He got up many times just to see if the money box was safe. Thus, the whole night he was disturbed.

As soon as the next day dawned, Giri took the box of cash to Hari. He gave away the box saying, “Dear friend, I am poor but I enjoy my life and most importantly my good night’s sleep. Your money disturbed me so much; it took away my peace of mind. Please don’t misunderstand me, take back your money.”

Moral of the story is: Prosperity is in mind. 

Most of us connect prosperity to money and affluence. But the fact is we can either be financially wealthy, or mentally fulfilled. We don’t believe there is an inconsistency between different forms of “wealth.” The saddening part is we see them all working together. What good is financial wealth if we don’t use that to seek our own fulfillment as well as the good of others around us? How many times does the feeling cross your mind that you have to do good for your family, your friends and the society? And, what purpose would spiritual and emotional fulfillment serve if it only went hand-in-hand with poverty and struggle? Children of affluent people are generally supposed to be at low risk in most areas of life. People think that the rich and affluent can safeguard their kids from most seen and unseen problems. However, recent studies have suggested problems in several domains; particularly drug abuse, substance use, anxiety, and depression because of two main causes: pressures to achieve and isolation from parents.

To feel prosperous the first thing to realize is that everything around us is a product of our mind.  All that happens in our life is also is a result of our own mind. This has been proven scientifically over and over again……….we don’t need tons of money to attract prosperity. We however need to feel prosperous in order to attract prosperity. Joyfulness attracts more joy. Happiness attracts more happiness. Peace attracts more peace. Gratitude attracts more gratitude. Kindness attracts more kindness. Love attracts more love. You need to work inside in your psyche. So, keep working within your heart to change your world, all you have to do is change the way you feel inside. All said and done, it is not at all easy.  Your feeling will determine whether you become poorer or richer.

The size of the house, its locality, how it is furnished etc does not matter; what matters is people who live in it, how happy they are together. Often, you find yourself lost in a mix of contradictions: beautiful, shattered; refreshing, frustrating; friendly, bitter; inspirational, small-minded; jealous, compassionate. As far as the ending feeling is positive, it should not bother you much. When you are surrounded with happy, cooperative and loving family and friends, the cheap housing, old vehicle, lesser known school from where you studied, unbranded clothes and accessories really don’t matter.

‘Prosper’ means living according to one’s hope. While wishing someone prosperity we are saying that we wish they will achieve the future they are hoping for. Abundance in life is not about what we have and how much we have. It’s not about what we get. It’s not about what we claim. Ultimately, abundant life is about what we receive as a gift from the Lord. Abundance is manifestation. It’s not a sin to be rich. And we should not forget that while dying we are neither rich nor poor. Furthermore, it’s not important to only count how much we have received, but it’s equally important how much we have given. At the end of the day, perhaps that is how we know we have an abundant life; when we have shared our life with others. When we have enough of the blessings of God when we have forgiveness, peace, love, grace, wisdom, etc. to share with our others, and then actually do it; that’s when we truly have prosperity in life.

When we become reasonably affluent and reasonably successful in life, we tend to neglect most basic needs of ours. We become so busy that we neglect proper food, proper sleep, we get isolated from our friends, isolated from family members, and stress becomes our only companion. How much money is sufficient for us? Which car model, how big house, how much gold, what bank balance will make us happy? We have absolutely no answers. The greed for more drives us to become lonely in life; it leads us often discarding our health, our relationships, our zeal, our personal growth, and our desire to contribute beyond ourselves. It makes us so selfish and nothing seems to fulfill our desires. And, desires are very illusive in nature.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, there were two dominant theories in psychology. The first one was the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud;  in his view, human beings are almost entirely driven by primitive urges like sex and aggression. These ever-present impulses must be managed if we are to live together in civilized society. This leaves many people terribly diverged at an unconscious level. A miserable, unfulfilled existence is avoidable if urges are managed well. And, the second theory is called behaviorism by J. B. Watson and B. F. Skinner in which human beings are compared to oversized lab rats; because human are programmed or conditioned to behave the way they do by factors outside of their control. They have no mind, no will of their own. Their feelings are not real and therefore do not matter. People are simply programmable machines who can be manipulated into doing anything. Both theories psychoanalysis and behaviorism had dehumanized our understanding of ourselves and what it means to be human.

In the middle of the previous century, Abraham Maslow’s need pyramid manifesto was introduced which makes us look inwardly to reflect on whether our lower level needs really are being met sufficiently and it also aims to show some possible ways to increase our exponential abilities to grow and thrive on the higher levels we seek. The lower level needs are physiological needs, security needs and social needs and the higher level needs are esteem needs and self actualization needs. Maslow said that people are trapped in never-ending needs and desires; when one need is satisfied the other crops up which leads to a struggle of mankind chasing to satisfy his unmet needs.

Minimalism helps us live purpose-driven life.  What is minimalism? Minimalism is simply getting rid of the desire of excess in life and focusing on what is important so as to find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom. It helps us achieve something ‘higher’ in life.  It inspires us to quick fix our personal or professional success, spiritual enlightenment or any other high level goal. It teaches us to be grounded and self-disciplined in life. And, above all it makes us happy and positive people.

Well, minimalism doesn’t say that it is inherently wrong with owning material possessions. But, when we have too much, it consumes our energy getting more and more attached to maintaining it. We assign such a lot of importance to our materialistic assets. Minimalism simply allows us to detach from the excess. There are many successful minimalists who lead appreciably different lives. It helps us reclaim our time; it allows us to live in the moment; pursue our passion; discover our mission thus allowing us to experience real freedom. It allows us focus on our health and helps grow as individuals by contributing beyond ourselves. By incorporating minimalism into our lives, we can get rid of superfluous attachments which drain our energies.

There is no strict code or an arbitrary set of rules to become accustomed to the minimalistic lifestyle. Yet, it is not all that easy to take the first step to the detachment. But, the fact is that once you adopt it, the journey gets easier and easier. To begin with, you need to make fundamental changes in your mindset, actions, and habits. It helps us to travel the life’s journey lighter because of lesser baggage.  We need so little actually to survive. Minimalism creates more room for what is important. When we clear the clutter we lose that claustrophobic feeling and create the room to fill up our lives with meaning instead of redundant possessions. It allows us let go greed, debt, obsession and overtaxing. This in turn creates an opening to do the things we love, things that we never seem to have time for.

And, while practicing minimalism, we suddenly realize that all the stuff we are surrounded with is merely a distraction. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy comfort. After the initial comfort is satisfied, that’s where our obsession with money should end. It’s hard not to get roped into the consumerism trap. We therefore need constant reminders that it’s a false sense of happiness. While we enjoy the materialism, we should also recognize that it’s not all that worth it. When we cling onto too many things we only create bewilderment and puzzles; therefore, the fewer things we have to worry about, the more peace we get. It’s as simple as that.

With minimalism you naturally de-cluttering our life; happiness naturally comes because you gravitate towards the things that matter most. You see clearly the false promises in all the clutter, it’s like a broken shield against life’s true essence. It also makes you more efficient and thus you will find more time to concentrate by having refocused your priorities. There is really a lot of joy by enjoying slowing down. When you look at monks, they have no fear because they don’t have anything to lose. That brings such a lot of relief and charm to their life. In whatever you wish to pursue you can excel, if you aren’t plagued with the fear of losing all your worldly possessions. Obviously you need to take the appropriate steps to put a roof over your head, but also know that you have little to fear except fear itself.

The entire minimalist lifestyle promotes individuality and self reliance. This will make you more confident in your pursuit of happiness. Minimalism reduces the amount of distractions to allow us to enjoy and focus on the main message of a piece of art.

Historically, Buddhist monks were allowed to own only 8 possessions; their robe which consisted of 3 pieces of fabric, a begging bowl, girdle, water-filter, a needle to repair their robe, and a razor to shave their head. They spent studying their scriptures and living by the path Buddha outlined, eventually endeavoring Nirvana.  Buddha taught that suffering is caused because of desires and cravings.  The Bible is also packed full of Minimalist ideals.  The Bible states very clearly that life is about following God, not amassing possessions.  Distractions are to be discarded and selflessness is praised.

Minimalism is slowly picking up steam. There are lots of youngsters adopting minimalistic lifestyles. I salute them all whole-heartedly for their guts. It’s not too late for us to re-prioritize our lives around those things which would really make us happy by discarding those things that we don’t really need. We’ve been trained subconsciously to amass wealth; the economy benefits when we can’t control our cravings, but if we decide, we can snap out of it. Enjoy minimalism!!

]]> https://drvidyahattangadi.com/eliminate-the-discontent-by-adopting-minimalism/feed/ 0