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.