By Dr.Paul Bundi Karau
Reflections on happiness
The tempestuous and testing 2021 has finally given way to 2022. Happy new year.
Remember, however, that there's no difference between yesterday and today; in other words, 2022 is a continuation of 2021. It is our minds that realign to feel as if the old is gone, and new is born.
As a village thinker, allow me to pontificate a little.
The main goal of life is the pursuit of meaning. And the main reason we pursue meaning is to obtain happiness. There's however no station in life called success, and no station called happiness. This is a fluid state that keeps shifting until we reach the end of the road and transit to the yonder.
I remember when I got my first posting, a wise old man called me and asked me not to follow the way of young employed graduates. According to him, they get their first pay and buy flashy cars, instead of investing in shares or buying a piece of land- something that will give some returns in future.
I have a cousin who loudly wonders how daft people can be to buy big cars which are NOT toyotas. In his mind, any car apart from a Toyota is a waste of money and a source of trouble.
I have been thinking lately that actually both are wrong. The young employee who uses his initial pay to build rentals, and the one who takes a loan to buy a big car are all pursuing the same thing- happiness.
One person's happiness is not another's. To my cousin, I keep telling him that a car is like a wife- people have preferences. Some go for good manners, others fall for big eyes, long neck and other small essentials.
And that, to me, is life.
Life, by design, is a lonely journey in search of meaning and happiness.
And the biggest source of unhappiness is pursuit of another's journey, and the thinking that life is linear and predictable. The thinking that happiness is universal and what tickles one should tickle all is wrong.
In this year (I pray it will be the annus mirabilis), my prayer for you is that
1. You may be courageous in your lonely search for meaning and happiness.
2. That you will strive to make someone feel valued. Among all sources of happiness, this is the one that comes close to universal.
3. That the Unfailing Grace of Providence will follow you. We all survive by Grace. If you see the randomness with which covid-19 took lives, there's absolutely nothing special about you. I saw young, healthy patients ebb away, while elderly, battered patients survived. It could be you, or me. By some act of divine decision, you were spared.
The lesson I learn from Grace is that we don't know anything about how it operates. We can only pray that the giver of Grace extends His hand on us.
4. I pray that whatever our hands find to do, we do it with all our might. Nothing sates the soul than the feeling that you gave your best.
5. It is not bad to rest! I may be abnormal, but any time I take a day off, by 10 am, I start feeling a creeping of guilt, as if taking rest and just doing nothing is a mortal sin.
6. Remember to take a deep breath. I have had to learn and relearn this lesson. A deep breath is satisfying and uplifting to the soul. Most people survive on shallow, rapid breaths, as they race through life. Remembering to breath deeply relaxes muscles, refreshes the brain and reminds us that we are living beings.
2022 will have its share of ups and downs. May we go through them safely in His Grace and Mercy.
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