In some way or another, we all search meaning in life. What defines happiness? In my humble opinion, a person’s perception of happiness derives from three sources. First is overcoming life challenges. Second is achieving something you have worked so hard for. Third, is living a fulfilled life mindfully and with gratitude.
I overcame my first major life challenges when I came to America at the age of 12. Not knowing a word of English yet understood everything that was going on, it was very hard for me. For three years, I totally had no clue what teachers were talking about. I didn’t have any friends in school, I wore different clothes and ate different lunches. My biggest worry back then was recess, because I had no one to play with and no one to sit with at lunch table. It was not until later in my high school years that new friendships developed and I became more comfortable with my own skin. When I received my acceptance letter to Cornell University, it made me so happy for a long time…
After I graduated from college, I started working and also attending graduate school at the same time. I always worked. It was certainly not by choice but I accepted the life that was given to me. Definitely a lot of rough starts, detours, and self-doubt. Despite lots of crying at night, I was proud that I was at least able to support myself, pay my own bills, and be a good citizen to society. Slowly with persistence and perseverance, I found my own path. I was even able to save enough money with my husband to purchase our first house all on our own! Slowly, it became even more evident that there was a predestined path. I followed my heart, my instinct, and worked very hard on projects that were given to me. In the process, I grew as a person and became happier because of the many friendships and wisdom I have gained in the process. I don’t need others to tell me if I am a worthy person, because I know I am. The happiness of creating something from ground zero, including building a family and a caereer, has made me felt so content for a long time.
When I turned 40, I began to shift my gear more towards spiritual development. To me, that also makes me happy. The two words I recite to myself every day are “mindfulness” and “gratitude.” I realized that it is only natural that we all age. We will have more gary hairs, more wrinkles, and more ailments, whether we like it or not. But, if we just focus our energy on spirituality, it will make our life happier. How we can grow spiritually has become a major part of my life nowadays. I said to myself I will not waste my energy on people who don’t demonstrate character and kindness, and I would only do things that that speak to my heart. Doing yoga regularly, paying attention to the daily routine, making good meals for my family, tucking my kids to sleep, helping others in needs, and giving back to the community, have definitely sharpened my soul.
In today’s unsettling time, it is so important that we take the time to cultivate happiness. The three elements I mentioned earlier help me put the “ultimate happiness” into perspective. However there are still little things we can do right now to make us feel just a little bit better, and the word is positivity. Right now, there are so many things that are out of our control, but I truly believe, if we can just focus positive energy such taking care of ourselves ( physically and mentally), taking mini time-out to chill-out, hanging out with positive people, doing positive deeds, focusing things we are grateful for, it would make our life a lot happier. Something gotta give in times like this, but let us prioritize. To me, family and health come first. Maybe there is a silverling to this whole pandemic, civil rights movement, and wildfire. With my job, I see so much sadness yet so much beauty every day.
Let us al pray for a better tomorrow for all mankind.
Stay positive. It will all pass…
