“Happiness dwells in the small world that’s yours, not in that big one that makes you lose yourself” (Fernanda Mello)
Happiness takes many forms and appearances. There are great and small happinesses, gentle and overwhelming ones. Many consider happiness to be life’s ultimate goal — and believe that everyone has a right to it.
The happinesses of this world live in luxurious homes and humble shacks — and sometimes, have no home at all. They walk on foot, take the bus, squeeze into crowded trains, or ride in private jets. They may wear elegant clothes or simple rags, dine well or make do with just a piece of bread.
Yet all these happinesses are, in their essence, absolutely the same, regardless of social or economic status.
Happiness often walks hand in hand with various companions — a challenging job, a happy marriage, fame, or power. Some say happiness has a special fondness for money, though many people insist that isn’t true.
Happiness tends to be fleeting and lasts only as long as the reasons for its existence remain. When the money runs out, the job is lost, or fame and love vanish, happiness quickly grows sad. The happiness that once rode in a luxury car becomes completely miserable when forced to take the bus.
Even lasting happiness eventually encounters a powerful adversary: routine — which leads to boredom and slowly wears it down. Thus, happiness is never fully content with itself and always longs for something more — for grandeur and sophistication.
Happiness always travels with its sisters — sorrow and disappointment — with whom it shares the essence of what is transient and perishable. They whirl through our lives, weaving illusions and disillusions, building castles of cards and sand that are, from the very start, destined to fall.
We follow the winding roads and the highs and lows that happiness and sadness lay before us — until a moment of saturation arrives, and we begin to wonder whether there might exist a true and lasting Happiness, one that doesn’t rely on external conditions, and is full and complete in itself.
When we yearn for this rare Happiness, it may appear in our lives as a pre-memory or an inner voice — inviting us to quiet the storm of our thoughts and desires, and connect with our deepest essence. And then, in the very core of our heart, we find the home of this true and singular Happiness — the one that will never abandon us.
