Prescription for happiness

A physician prescribes medicine for cure from diseases. Who prescribes medicine for happiness? It’s not easy to be prescribed for happiness varies from person to person. Most of us crave for happiness (pleasure) that are momentary and fleeting. Many people resort to some easy and difficult methods to obtain happiness. But eventually they end up frustrated or disappointed. They are even haunted by remorse.

A.R Stevenson is a scientist who lived in the nineteenth century. Most of his novels are world famous. He had a spiritual and moral realm in his writings.  “Doctor Juckle and Mr. Head is a psychological work. He died due to tuberculosis at the age of 44.

He has written a prescription for happiness. This prescription is relevant even after one and a half centuries.

1. Keep your mind in happiness. Try to find happiness and satisfaction in small and trivial things. The control of our mind lies with us. We should be careful not to welcome depression and sadness. When God, the eternal bliss abides in us, there won’t be disappointment and depression in our minds. That is what St. Paul said, “rejoice in the Lord and rejoice always.”
2. Turn the situations favourable to you. We will have to face different situations. All these may not be favaourable and pleasing. There will be a mixture of happiness and sadness. The moments of sadness should transcend the moments of happiness. At this context, it is relevant to mention one of Stevenson’s childhood experiences.  He was a mischievous boy. One day, he entered his room and locked the door and windows. And suddenly the power went out. It was utter darkness around. He tried to open the door but couldn’t. He felt lonely and scared. He felt suffocated. He tried aloud calling his dad. The father who was in the next room heard his son’s cry. He came and saw the room locked from inside. He pushed but it didn’t open. Stevenson realized that  his father was outside the room calling his name. He stopped crying. But there was no change in his room. He is still lonely, locked and in utter darkness. But how he got courage. The fear vanished when he realized that his father is outside the room.  Like this, even in times of misery, the faith that your heavenly father is beside you would alleviate sorrow.
3. Don’t exaggerate your failures and drawbacks. Instead, try to laugh at yourself in a sarcastic way. It’s  common that everyone would make some mistakes.
4. Don’t allow somebody else to govern your life.
5. Be vigilant not to fall into debt. When do we plunge into debt? When we don’t spend according to our income and when we don’t differentiate needs and luxuries, we become bankrupt. Have self-control and evaluate yourself.
6. Don’t imagine problems. The problems of imagination are more grave than those real ones.
7. Do what you like to do. Sometimes, you may have to do what you don’t like. Don’t hate them but  accept them and utilize them for your advantage.
8. Don’t keep grudge and it’s poisonous. Don’t keep hatred to anybody, and keep away complaints and discontentment.
9. Don’t try to postmortem your past painful experiences. Past is past. Let it be oblivious.
10. Involve yourself in some activities. Select that activity suitable  to your age and situation. It is said, “idle mind is the workshop of the devil”. When the mind and body are idle, negative thoughts and imaginations would pop up. And when we engage in some creative acts, there will be happiness and refreshment.

Follow this prescription for happiness. Edward Hail says, Don’t carry more than one problem at a time. Many a men carry three problems: past, present and future. What is internal is more important than what is external.