
Happiness lies within and outside. If its not within then we fail to see it ouside, and if it is not outside its not within either. There has to be a balance -- it has to be at both the places to exist.
What we see around is what we take within...and what we have within is what we give and add to our surroundings.
Sometimes life brings us at one such point, where we have lost the happiness within. We lose hope and are in despair. Its the time when we reach out and search for happiness outside so that it flows in and fills our heart again with the same hope and cheer we had once. Unless we do that and keep ourselves from reaching out to that happiness, we can never let it in. It will be out there in the world, and stay with those who care to let it in and add on to it too.
It works both ways, we take happiness from outside when we loose it within and we give happiness to outside when we have it inside of us.
So the question is -- How do we take or receive the happiness from outside and make it ours ?? and how we give our abundance of happiness to the outside of us??
Its very simple.
To receive happiness, we don't have to pretend we are happy. First let out the sorrows if need be, empty those thoughts. How to do that... ?? Well as a matter of fact they can't be emptied in one go, they have be replaced first with "something else" and then as this layer of "something else" grows stronger and thicker, the older layer of sorrow and despair shrinks and loses significance. Its then the right time that we willingly discard those sorrows and open the doorway ajar for the happiness to fill our heart with.
This "something else" can be ?? well that is upto you.... This "something else" is highly dependent on the cause of sorrow ....and appropriately there does always exist a "something else" ;)
But the end result is that we always come out stronger and brighter than ever before. We may get the company of caring friends, even sharing the sorrows of others helps us see the magnitude of our own problems shrinking, it could be a new hobby, a newer job, a new aim, a new friend, a new pet, a new focal point where we can invest our mind and energies to.
But yes to find this "something else" means we are to ignite the starting point, i.e. when we realise from the deepest core of our heart that we have to move forward and help ourselves out of this situation. For example -- having lost the friendship of my best friend, i came to hate myself and scrutinize my each public behaviour, that am i that bad and tactless in my dealings with friends, am i that bad a person ? I found the answer when others reached out to me and made me their own. My action?? i initiated to open the doorway and welcome them in my life. I have better friends today who are more caring and supportive and i also have learnt the truth of life that friends no matter how close, the friendship is never static. We have to be honest and not pretend, because being honest means you are true and do actively work for the betterment of the friendship; while pretense is indeed hiding your true emotions when you feel otherwise which does injustice to the very loving relationship of friendship. There is a stark line of contrast between being a friend and an acquaitance, and you can be on the either side any day for someone, and its always better to know on which side you are for a person and do you really wish to change your position from one[friend/acquaintance] to another[acquaintance/friend].
Also how to add to the happiness in our surrounding??
Well this is required because today we are happy but someone out there is not happy. He/She needs to let go of the sorrows and take happiness from outside. How?? Happiness is not floating in the air.. It is in abundance yes but distributed. Each is a carrier of happiness. We carry it along with us, we are the outside[surroundings] for the other and they are the outside for us. We give it to them who need it. Doing so helps in increasing the happiness count within us and also help lower the sorrow count in the other and encourage them to open the door for the happiness from all around to enter and fill their heart. The step to open the door, the step to ignite this move to open the door is the crucial one. Just have to ensure that you don't close it before enough of happiness has entered to fight off the old sorrows.
And yes this is not a one time process. This keeps happening with all of us all the time. We give or take happiness all the while. And each time we come out stronger and brighter and more wise.
I am m not happy today, but am looking for my "something else" and i know I will find it soon.
I have been through it once, so I know would be out again and each time i am full of despair i would know how to fight it off :)
Keep smiling always... it may help others if not you :)