ACCEPTANCE IS THE WAY TO HAPPINESS

Happiness is a state of ecstasy in the mind of an individual. It is some thing noble, essential, and universal in the human yearning to be happy, seeking rapture in spirituality, love in families and bliss in Mother Nature. Humans were designed to be happy, creative and in harmony with the Mother Nature at all times for a persistent state of joy. All humans’ toil is for the mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied. One should stay away from the treadmill of wanting and live a simple life in the moment. It is important to work on social skills, close interpersonal ties and social support to be happy.

Happiness is not a static state and is inherently subjective. It is the result of release of chemical neurotransmitters by the brain cells as a result of stimulation caused by food, sex, drugs, and social esteem. Brain cells release Dopamine and or Endorphins floods and bathe the neurons involved in memory and emotion regarding the above-mentioned activities causing pleasurable feelings of joy. Narcotics/alcohol mimics opiates by numbing pain and producing a feeling of euphoria. Repeated ingestion of these can fool the brain in to craving those drugs more than food and sex.

Contentment is accepting the fact with positive attitude. The overall happiness is not merely the sum of our happy moments minus the sum of our sad ones. The three components of happiness are pleasure, engagement, and meaning of a purpose of life. Engagement and meaning are much more important.

Be willing to have it so. Circumstantial factors like income, marital status, religious faith, and education are minor to one’s overall well being. On the positive side, religious faith genuinely uplifts the spirit.

The basic problems facing humanity are anxiety, depression, neurosis, obsession, paranoia, and delusions requiring to be dealt with. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequence of misfortune. It does not mean liking a situation; it is just an acknowledgement of reality and hope that it will pass.

All issues, all disturbances, all conflicts can be handled by understanding what the problem is and accepting it, then changing it. As the saying goes, we are either part of the problem or part of the solution. When we are disturbed about something or someone, it is because we do not understand on a higher level but view it through our personality, which is attached to our need to control things and see ourselves in a positive light.

If some facet of our life is unacceptable, and we have been up front in dealing with it to no avail, sometimes the only way through is to accept that this is so. We cannot find serenity when we are at war with someone or with ourselves. Nothing happens on this great green earth by mistake. Unless we accept our situation and learn from it, we cannot be happy. If we learn from it, then we need not beat ourselves up.

Nor do we need to beat up others with blame words. We need only concentrate on our part of the situation; what needs to be changed in our way of thinking and having done so, happiness will follow. Joy is a fragile thing. One should try to bring the self from negative ailing state to neutral normal.

Steps for a more satisfying life:

 Invest time and energy with family and friends.
 Free your heart from hatred and mind from worries.
 Live simply, give more, and expect less.
 Count your blessings.
 Practice Kindness.
 Enjoy momentary pleasures of the present.
 Practice Attitude of gratitude.
 Practice Forgiveness.
 Strategies for coping with stress and hardships.
 Take care of your body.

Happiness is the only way to keep one’s self-healthy and safe. Happiness comes not in denying this but in living with it. The things that bring the greatest joy carry the greatest potential for sadness.

“When God’s words leave an impression on man, And service is performed, happiness is obtained”.
This is not a fatalistic or passive approach to life. We may very well be given seemingly insurmountable obstacles in life in order to learn what we can, by overcoming them. But if we face these obstacles with a basic acceptance, we are much more likely to possess the calmness of mind necessary to see with some clarity the most skillful means of overcoming them. What keeps us constantly struggling with life is the attitude of non-acceptance, of not trusting the basic process of life unfolding. We suffer under the false assumption that the goal of life is to always avoid what we find unpleasant and to try to dwell in constant comfort. We don't really understand that life is nothing personal. It is much bigger than that. We need to learn to trust in and surrender to this impersonal process we tend to think of as "my life.”