I mentioned earlier that I had breakfast with my Yoda today. I mentioned about how we talked of fulfilment rather than material gains.
I continued thinking about this over the course of the day and I remembered what Dharshini, an old friend from Uni, once taught me a long time ago.
Happiness is fleeting.
That which we mortals covet is like the sand in our palm. As much as we try to hold it in, we can't stop it from seeping through our fingers.
So what should be the ultimate goal then, given the fleeting nature of that which we know as happiness?
I have a theory, based on my discussion with Yoda and many other wise and grey-haired individuals. Most of the subject of my interviews look back, and wished for fulfilment.
I was sipping tea with a friend after work today, and while contemplating the next career move, he outlined a list of things that would easily shadow the 'need' to earn that extra 20%. Respect from your bosses and colleagues, compassion, friendship and comraderie, a sense of achievement. None of these things are actually spelled out in a job advertisement, but we all subconsciously seek it.
It's interesting that when we first start out, we proudly announce how money is everything, and how as we get older, it has less significance.
Fulfilment is perhaps more than just having time to smell the roses. It's a sense of belonging, knowing your place in this world, and seeing the fruits of your labour, however small it may be, come to be.
So have we always been off base in seeking happiness? I think so. Most people who seem happy have no idea what it is until it leaves them. They take the moment for granted, and when it's gone, they pine for it like a lost lover.
Fulfilment, to me, allows us to savour the sweet and the stink of life with the same vigour. Life was not meant to be a bed of roses, so perhaps a change of perception would soothe the souls that needs to be healed.
Posted by Najah Nasseri at 2004年01月31日 01:51 | TrackBackhmm.. i just saw 'la dolce vita' at sobranie just now. have u seen it? perhaps it will give u new perspectives on zis thing called 'happiness'.
hmm as for me, i feel happy whenever during and after my weekly arabic / learning Qur'an / agama class. ustaz zolfan shares his knowledge and i always feel more motivated and happier, with a sense of purpose and direction after the class. we have discussions and ask questions. and we also have fun, laughing one moment and reflective the next.
maybe its the search for Truth and sharing knowledge with people that is the source of this inner joy.
take care now.
Posted by: faren at 2004年02月01日 01:00Happiness is like our shadow. We will never have it if we don't learn to sit still, as happiness is already in us. Happiness has two names: HereNow.
Posted by: Soli at 2004年02月01日 07:41EID MUBARAK! SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILADHA!
"There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they are, therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is loss for all to see!"
[Qur'an - Surah al-Hajj. 22:11]
there's this cartoon i recently noticed and laughed over: it showed a grave with a tombstone etched with this epitaph:
Here lies a man who will be happy tomorrow.
Aren't we all like that in a lot of ways?: We'll only be happy IF....we get the raise, we lose the weight, we are loved by a certain person....but in the end, we'll just discover more and more IFs in our pursuit of happiness.
So - and this goes for me especially - the "secret" could be to find the stuff we can be happy about even if they seem small: our health, our shelter, peace in our country, our employment, our friends, our coffees ;-)
Haha...that's me trying to do an Anthony Robbins...you take care...
PS: Faren...thanks for the reminder....
Posted by: Zsarina at 2004年02月02日 19:00being the king of joy... happiness just comes naturally for me ;-p
Posted by: inbam at 2004年02月03日 01:03Imam Al-Ghazali once said:
1) "true happiness is when you can remember Allah all the time"
2) "The perfection of Happiness can be achieved thru 3 strength: 1) Strength of Knowledge 2) Strength of Nafsu and 3) Strength of Anger. It is crucial to walk along the middle of all the strength ...
I recommend whoever interested in the journey to happiness to read the book "Tasawuf Moden" by Prof Dr Hamka.
InsyaAllah u'll find something usefull there.
Fleeting they may be, happiness gives us a sense of wholesomeness. Wanting to feel happy is an instinct that had been passed down since time immemorial when cavemen sat around the campfire grunting and gloating over their hunt.
Posted by: petertan at 2004年02月04日 11:06Progress is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The former is attained through observation of the surrounding existence and constitutes the foundation of civilization. Spiritual progress is through the breaths of the Holy Spirit and is the awakening of the conscious soul of man to perceive the reality of divinity. Material progress insures the happiness of the human world. Spiritual progress insures the happiness and eternal continuance of the soul. The prophets of God have founded the laws of divine civilization. They have been the root and fundamental source of all knowledge. They have established the principles of human brotherhood or fraternity which is of various kinds, such as the fraternity of family, of race, of nation and of ethical motives. These forms of fraternity, these bonds of brotherhood are merely temporal and transient in association. They do not insure harmony and are usually productive of disagreement. They do not prevent warfare and strife; on the contrary they are selfish, restricted and fruitful causes of enmity and hatred among mankind. The spiritual brotherhood which is enkindled and established through the breaths of the Holy Spirit unites nations and removes the cause of warfare and strife. It transforms mankind into one great family and establishes the foundations of the oneness of humanity. It promulgates the spirit of international agreement and insures Universal Peace. Therefore we must investigate the foundation reality of this heavenly fraternity. We must forsake all imitations and promote the reality of the divine teachings. In accordance with these principles and actions and by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, both material and spiritual happiness shall become realized. Until all nations and peoples become united by the bonds of the Holy Spirit in this real fraternity, until national and international prejudices are effaced in the reality of this spiritual brotherhood, true progress, prosperity and lasting happiness will not be attained by man. This is the century of new and universal nationhood. Sciences have advanced, industries have progressed, politics have been reformed, liberty has been proclaimed, justice is awakening. This is the century of motion, divine stimulus and accomplishment; the century of human solidarity and altruistic service; the century of Universal Peace and the reality of the divine kingdom.
(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 226)
Posted by: inbam at 2004年02月04日 21:08R u on some kind of medication? Cause u keep seeing Yoda .... Yodas dead. Died in Star Wars. Maybe its the food u eat?
Posted by: fade0 at 2004年02月05日 03:02fade0,
There is more than one Yoda, just like everyone seems to have a friend called John or Bill or Jenny... =)
Posted by: Najah at 2004年02月05日 07:48