Here is a special story that shows us how we identify with happiness. Its a short Sufi, Middle-Eastern story taken from here.
The Sack
Mulla came upon a frowning man walking along the road to town.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
The man held up a tattered bag and moaned, “All that I own in this wide world barely fills this miserable, wretched sack.”
“Too bad,” said Mulla, and with that, he snatched the bag from the man’s hands and ran down the road with it.
Having lost everything, the man burst into tears and, more miserable than before, continued walking.
Meanwhile, Mulla quickly ran around the bend and placed the man’s sack in the middle of the road where he would have to come upon it.
When the man saw his bag sitting in the road before him, he laughed with joy, and shouted, “My sack! I thought I’d lost you!”
Watching through the bushes, Mulla chuckled. “Well, that’s one way to make someone happy!”
How To Be Happy?
Most people coming to me for therapy obviously come with some immediate concern at hand. However innately they appear to be holding the same question in their hearts as all of you who read this perhaps also do. ” How to be Happy?”. Some part of any counselling process often gets dedicated to helping people identify the happiness that is already there in their lives, in the present, and to experience it for what it is worth.
As the story shows, Happiness is not a distant bird somewhere in some bush. It is often perching right upon our own shoulder. Often we fail to recognize it unless it flies away or as in the above case case, gets taken away.
I wish all of you who read this a pleasant discovery of this already existing happiness, at least for today.
About the Author
This article was written by Sadia Saeed, Chief Counsellor and Founder of Inner Space. This post was consulted & approved by professional therapists practicing online therapy and counseling.
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Hi Nitin
Thank you so much for the link. I did manage to see it. Very Nice!
Victor Frankl has always been one of my favourites 🙂
Thanks Harshita, glad it helped 🙂
guddd!!!!!
Dear Madam ,
I came across a youtube video containing a part of a lecture by Dr. Vicktor Frankl. The link is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD1512_XJEw
He explains things better than I can do it here.
There are more videos on him but this is the one I first came across. Thanks.
Raj: If we keep conditions, we’ll be trapped in them first…
Dr Angi: I’ll definitely read about your experiences with happiness. Thanks for sharing
Ramesh: Thanks for that contribution 🙂 Removing the Ego is the most important and the most difficult part… but what is beautiful is that when we make attempts to detach ourselves from our ego or that which we know as the “i”, we grow and its a special space to be in…
In no language there is a word which means ‘ exactly opposite of HAPPINESS.’
How to be Happy ?
We say ” I Want Happiness ”
1. Remove ‘ I ‘ – The Ego. 2. Then eliminate ‘ Want ‘.
What is left behind ? – Happiness !
– Source Dr Omkar Nath Wakhlu’s talk at Pune. Dr Wakhlu is a writer and internationally reputed facilitator for ‘ Happiness through Inner Peace.’
Contributed by Ramesh
Wonderful story! Happiness is truly a mindset in which one can choose. Thank you so much for sharing the Sumi story. I blogged on my experience with happiness yesterday (AKissOfBliss.wordpress.com). I hope you have an opportunity to see it.
With blessings of joy and gratitude,
Dr. Angi
Exactly, but the only condition is there shud not be one sided relation. Even mathematics explain us the same thing, i,e + & + = +.
Yes Fayaz… Isn’t it lovely the way this story sweetly brings home the point 🙂
Very true indeed. A majority of people wait for happiness to arrive when it is already there with them. Its a matter of perception that most of us look outside rather than the inside.
Inspiring story.