Today – 20 March 2024 – is The International Day of Happiness 2024 (or Happiness Day).
The International Day of Happiness is observed every year all over the world on March 20 – to highlight the importance of happiness in the lives of people.
The theme of International Day of Happiness for this year is “Happier Together” which implies the significance of togetherness in happiness for people all over the world.
Happiness Day recognizes happiness as the most important need in any human’s life and links it to the overall well-being of humans.
On the occasion of Happiness Day – here is my blog post on “How to be Happy” – and – “The Art of Happiness”
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HOW TO BE HAPPY
MUSINGS ON HAPPINESS by VIKRAM KARVE
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THE ART OF HAPPINESS
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“The art of attaining happiness consists in keeping your pleasures mild…”
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The first time I followed this philosophical quote by Taoist Philosopher Mingliaotse was when I was posted to the Stone Frigate INS Valsura (Jamnagar) as an instructor 44 years ago in 1980 after a few glorious sea tenures on frontline warships based in Mumbai.
I was a young bachelor – full of zest – who had got used to the delights of “maximum city” Mumbai.
So – for me to be posted to this remote desolate place was a great disappointment.
However – I tried my best to find “happiness” even in that bleak environment – and I managed to have quite a “happy” time – before I managed to “escape” from that dreary place 9 months later as I had been “selected” for my M. Tech. Post-Graduate course at IIT Delhi.
The main motivation for my preparing well for the M. Tech. selection interview was that this was the earliest opportunity for me to get out of this godforsaken place.
Some officers and sailors who served with me in INS Valsura say that I was the “happiest” person there.
Looking back – it was not that bad a time as I had expected – since I had tried my best to find the smallest of “pleasures” that put me in a “happy” mood.
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“HAPPINESS” in COVID Times
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This same philosophy of enjoying the simplest of “mild” pleasures helped me during the Corona “Lockdown” and “Stay-at-Home” policy which was enforced due to the COVID-19 Pandemic on 24 March 2020 for almost two years forcing us to stay at home most of the time.
For a gregarious and “outdoors” person like me – it was terrible to be locked inside my house for this long duration – it was almost like “house imprisonment”.
Many persons can get depressed if they are locked inside their homes and isolated from society for a prolonged duration.
However – I tried my best to discover pleasurable activities which I could do within the parameters of the lockdown.
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I made a “Happiness List” for “Lockdown” Stay-at-Home.
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And hence – I retained my “sanity” and remained quite happy locked up in my home for this extended lockdown period.
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Dear Reader:
Do read the article and give me your feedback…
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HOW TO BE HAPPY – THE HAPPINESS LIST
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A few moments ago – I heard a melodious song on Vividh Bharati Radio.
I felt happy.
And – I remembered an article I had written 24 years ago – in the year 2000 – based on this philosophical quote by Taoist Philosopher Mingliaotse:
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“The art of attaining happiness consists in keeping your pleasures mild…”
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It has been my experience too – that:
“MILD” PLEASURES GIVE YOU MAXIMUM HAPPINESS
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So – let me delve deep into my “SELF HELP” Archives and dig out this article for you to read.
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IF YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY – KEEP YOUR PLEASURES MILD Self Help Musings of a Veteran By VIKRAM KARVE
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HAPPINESS – a PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH
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The primary aim of philosophy and spirituality is to help ordinary people live a life of happiness, fulfillment, inner peace and tranquility.
Every day you ask yourself:
How do I live a happy life…?
Is it simple to be happy…?
What is the “Art of Happiness”…?
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PLEASURE and HAPPINESS
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Let us see what the Taoist philosopher Mingliaotse has to say:
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“The art of attaining happiness consists in keeping your pleasures mild…”
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You know that whenever pleasure is present you are happy – this is a fact that cannot be denied.
A pleasure is an enjoyable event or delightful emotion which is bound to make you happy – at least for that moment.
Highfalutin philosophers and spiritual gurus may prescribe various impracticable esoteric paths of renunciation, asceticism or sectarian precepts eschewing enjoyment and pleasure as the sine qua non of happiness.
Yes – many “Gurus” prescribe living a staid ascetic life which entails eschewing of all enjoyment and pleasure as a prerequisite for attaining happiness and enlightenment.
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But – the fact of the matter is – that – to the ordinary person:
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Happiness and Pleasure are inextricably intertwined.
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Yes:
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Pleasures make you Happy
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and you know it.
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Discovering simple enduring pleasures – which you can easily and regularly achieve, realize and enjoy in your day-to-day life – will produce contentment, fulfillment and happiness.
Pleasure is certainly not a bad thing in itself.
But wanton pursuit of pleasures is counterproductive – as it leads to over-indulgence and excesses – which bring with them disturbances which are detrimental to our health, happiness and well-being.
In your search for happiness – you tend to indulge in lavish parties, unrestrained extravagance, conspicuous consumption, compulsive shopping, thoughtless profligacy, limitless spending, expensive entertainments etc.
You try to enjoy everything at once.
You want instant gratification by over-indulgence in drinking, eating, revelry and sensual pleasures – stretching yourself to the maximum limits possible.
At first – you enjoy yourself – and feel happy.
Then – you come to the point of satiety – and you begin to feel a sense of repulsion.
And – if you overdo yourself – next morning you wake up sick and feeling miserable with a sense of sadness and depression rather than happiness.
You may think that grandiose, ostentatious, lavish, unrestrained and intemperate indulgences will ostensibly make you happy.
But – in actual fact – these over-indulgences may render you stressed-out and unhappy – and cause you harm and misery in the long run.
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There is no need to overdo things in order to be happy.
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Just keep your pleasures mild.
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Enjoying a simple, tasty and healthy meal with your loved ones and friends – or just sitting quietly in solitude and leisurely reading a good book or enjoying melodious music – or taking a walk observing nature – or enjoying your work, leisure, hobbies – are some mild pleasures which will make you happy and keep you healthy too.
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HOW TO KEEP YOUR PLEASURES MILD
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STEP 1
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IDENTIFY ALL YOUR PLEASURES AND MAKE A “HAPPINESS LIST”
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It is simple to be happy.
The first thing you must do is to introspect and list your most pleasurable activities.
Yes – make a HAPPINESS LIST including all the things, activities, places and people that give you true joy, happiness and satisfaction.
Your happiness list must cover all aspects of your life.
Make your “happiness list” as exhaustive as possible.
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STEP 2
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IDENTIFY “MILD PLEASURES” FROM YOUR“HAPPINESS LIST”
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From this comprehensive “HAPPINESS LIST” – you must select those “Mild Pleasures” that you can enjoy every day – or very frequently – or very often.
Identify those “Mild Pleasures” that are Feasible and Viable for you to enjoy Frequently.
Then – incorporate these pleasures in your routine – and fit them into your daily life.
See what happens.
Some “pleasures” that you thought would make you happy – they actually do the opposite – don’t they…?
These are “pseudo pleasures” which you thought would make you happy – but your experience shows – that these “pseudo pleasures” actually cause you stress and unhappiness in the long run.
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STEP 3
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DELETE “PSEUDO PLEASURES” FROM YOUR“HAPPINESS LIST”
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Delete those “pleasures” that you first thought would give you happiness – but actually they made you feel stressed-out or depressed.
Yes – remove those things that you thought would be satisfying – but actually turned out to be unrewarding.
Experiment – make changes – be watchful – be dynamic.
Do not hesitate to add new items to your list.
You can always remove them – if they fail to produce the desired results.
Fine tune your HAPPINESS LIST – and religiously put into daily practice your happiness list – and experience happiness every day.
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BE HAPPY
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This prescription of keeping your pleasures mild will enable you to structure your life in way where your happiness will be in your control – and you will find greater joy in your life.
It will be feasible and within your control to ensure that you enjoy these mild pleasures daily – or at least fairly regularly.
With only limited waking hours during the day – these enjoyable events will begin to crowd out the unpleasant activities in your daily life.
This will make you feel fulfilled and happy.
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Dear Reader – start today – keep your pleasures mild so that you can enjoy these simple pleasures every day – and discover the true art of happiness – the art of living.
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Discover the mild pleasures that make you truly happy and joyful.
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And do let me know your experience – did this simple philosophy of keeping your pleasures mild make you happier…?
It is easy to be happy – isn’t it…?
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Remember:
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The art of attaining happiness consists in keeping your pleasures mild.
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Dear Reader:
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Have you made your “Happiness List”…?
Take the first step towards becoming Happy – make your “Happiness List” comprising your simple pleasures.
You will realise that there are many simple pleasures which may be easily feasible for you to do daily or frequently – like – listening to music – walking in the park – eating your favourite food – playing with children – talking to friends – having sex – sports, pastimes, hobbies, TV, OTT, Movies etc.
Introspect and see which of these mild pleasures can be included in your happiness list.
This is based on my personal experience. It may or may not work for you. So please do due diligence before trying out this technique.
All stories in this blog area work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
E&OE
Copyright Notice:
No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.
One evening a friend of mine landed up at my place and said, “I’ve had a really terrible day at work. I need a drink.”
“I’ll get you a cup of tea,” I said.
“Tea…?” he exclaimed astounded, “haven’t you got some whiskey or something…I told you I’m feeling terrible…everything went wrong today…I desperately need a drink…”
“I know you are dying for a drink, craving, yearning, thirsting for that “soothing” sip of alcohol. That’s why you must not drink now. You must never drink when you need a drink,” I said.
My friend pleaded but I didn’t budge and gave him a cup of tea which he drank with great reluctance, and then he walked off in a huff, calling me all sorts of names. He said that I was a miser, a “good for nothing” friend, but I knew I had done the right thing.
Don’t drink when you need a drink.
Yes, don’t drink when you want that drink.
Don’t touch a drop of alcohol when your mind or body craves for alcohol.
Sounds funny isn’t it…?
Let me try to elucidate.
Never drink when you need a drink.
Don’t touch the bottle when you are feeling any negative emotion like despondency, sadness, anger, irritation, envy, unhappiness, frustration, emotional pain, bad moods, down in the dumps feeling, or any negative vibes for the bottle will “unbottle” and release your pent up negative emotions and make you feel even more miserable and also spoil the mood of all those around you.
Let me tell you something I have observed in real life.
If you want to know the true character of a man, just get him drunk and what is hidden inside him will come out and his true inner self will be revealed.
Alcohol opens you up. That’s what alcohol does, isn’t it…?
Alcohol reduces inhibitions, makes you more talkative, more expansive and more expressive, loosens you up, and helps release, bring out and amplify your inner emotions, talents, passions, sentiments.
That’s why some persons become more creative after imbibing a drink or two since alcohol unleashes your inhibitions and releases the music, the poetry, the creativity hidden within you.
If you are happy inside, after a few drinks you will start physically expressing your happinessboisterously and outwardly by laughing, cheer and bonhomie.
In high spirits, you may even articulate your secret unexpressed love, become amorous, romantic, try to realize your hidden desires and reveal without compunctions your inner secrets which otherwise you would never disclose when sober.
But the converse is also true.
By reducing inhibitions, alcohol may bring out the worst in you by facilitating therelease of pent up negative emotions like anger, envy, dejection, despondency, frustration and these unleashed amplified negative emotions may result in undesirable, unpleasant and even disastrous consequences.
Have you noticed how some people get violent, argumentative, rude or even melancholic, moody, sullen, depressed, unsociable after a few drinks…?
Dear Reader, in my opinion, the best thing is to be a teetotaler and not to have a drink at all, but if you must have a drink please do make sure that you are feeling positive vibes and are peaceful and happy inside and never drink when you desperately “need” that drink. Yes, do not touch alcohol when you are feeling depressed or low or angry or have negative emotions.
Remember this golden rule – If you must drink, always drink when you are happy, in good cheerand full of positive vibes.
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and he is currently working on his novel. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 14 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse – his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
When I was a small boy, in the early 1960s, I lived in Pune on Tilak Road near Madiwale Colony in Sadashiv Peth.
Pune was a lovely place and life was good.
It was easy to be happy for our threshold of happiness was so low that it simple things filled us with joy – like a morning run up Parvati Hill, a stroll in Talyatla Ganpati Saras Baug Garden, enjoying the frolics of animals in the Peshwe Park Zoo, a ride in the toy-train Phulrani , unrestrained playing with carefree abandon on the swings, see-saws and slides in adjoining park, a yummy bhel made by the hugely bearded Kalpana Bhelwala, a cream-roll or doughnut at Ashok Bakery, Patties, Nankatai and Khari at Hindustan Bakery, Ice Cream at Bua, Kaware and Ganu Shinde – so many things to do – and once in a while, we would bicycle down Camp to partake the inimitable non-veg samosas and tea at Naaz, Chinese at Kamling, Paan at George and enjoy a Hollywood Movie and Ice Cream Soda at West End.
Oh yes, West End – I vividly remember seeing my first ever movie sitting on those inimitable easy chairs and sipping deliciously fizzy ice cream soda in the interval at West End’s famous soda fountain. The name of the movie was HATARI and till today Hatari remains my all time favourite Wild Life Adventure Film.
A man’s first love always has an enduring place in his heart; likewise a man’s first movie remains etched in his memories forever. So when I chanced upon a DVD of Hatari, I immediately brought it home and relived fond memories of my first movie experience, albeit with an improvised home-made ice cream soda.
HATARI is sheer fun – a clean entertaining film which can be enjoyed by people of all ages, from kids to grandparents. It is a spectacular adventure story, fast paced, exciting, thrilling, beautifully filmed on locations with real wildlife amidst exceptionally picturesque scenery, featuring hunting scenes which are simply astonishing. One you start watching Hatari, you are so engrossed that you remain glued to the screen from start to finish.
Hatari, in Swahili, means Danger, and true to its name the movie keeps you enthralled with a sense of mesmerizing danger as you watch the amazing hunting scenes featuring speeding jeeps, stampeding animals and the rugged African terrain. Everything looks real, authentic – real animals, giraffes, leopards, elephants, and many others, in their natural glory and natural surroundings, like you’ve never seen them before.
Hatari is a simple story of a group of hunters in Africa, led by the inimitable John Wayne, who capture wild animals for zoos. The movie begins with a fantastic scene showing John Wayne and his team driving speeding jeeps and trucks across the empty, dusty plains, herding dozens of rhinos, trying to lasso one of the most difficult wild animals to catch. It is sheer spine-tingling thrilling entertainment.
Hatari has those rare, pleasant, naturally authentic settings, clear easy-on-the-eye photography, happenings and action which we do not see now-a-days in modern adventure films which often overtax the viewer by too many special effects.
Hatari’s simple plot, the camaraderie, the light romance, the subtle comedy, the delightful music [especially the foot tapping number “Baby Elephant Walk”], the visually enthralling scenery, and the fascinating animals make this film a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.
Hatari is a fun movie, pure entertainment, a visual treat with beautiful eye catching landscape, and plenty of thrilling action – the ideal feel-good movie for you to enjoy with your entire family.
There are a number of retired senior citizens in the colony where I live in Pune. Yes, there are still large numbers of pensioners living all over Pune though Pune is no longer a pensioners’ paradise.
I have noticed one intriguing thing. Though most are of the same chronological age, some are “young” and some are “old”.
Further observation reveals the formula for remaining young: Zest for Living and Passion for Learning is the best anti-ageing recipe that keeps you young forever.
Look around you and you will see what I mean. There are many oldie-goldies who are living life to the fullest and always eager to learn new things and there are also others who have no “juice” left in them as they have lost thespirit to enjoy learning with enthusiasm and relish the pleasures of life to their utmost.
I know a “young” senior citizen who, after retirement, started learning classical music from the scratch, enjoyed studying for 10 years till he completed his sangeet alankar, living life to the fullest in epicurean style – good food, music, concerts, plays, movies, travel, picnics, swimming, trekking, playing with his dogs, social work, you name it – he did it; and with the advent of internet he is enjoying moments exploring the mysteries of the web, learning new things and latest technologies, actively blogging with passionate fervour, and with gusto doing all sorts of learning activites, creative writing, surfing, social networking, making virtual friends, teaching music – for him variety is the spice of life.
He lives a delightfully active life, loves the company of youngsters and has the enthusiasm and energy of a child – and though in his late seventies he is “younger” than even those chronologically many years his junior and it is his zest for life and passion for knowledge that keeps him healthy, happy and youthful.
Remember you are as old as you feel, not as old as you look, or as old as you chronologically are. It is in your hands to forever remain a “young” senior citizen.
I will end this piece with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi:
Live as if you are going to die tomorrow
Learn as if you are going to live forever.
It is breathtakingly simple to remain young forever, Dear Reader. It is all in the mind. Forget your chronological age. Spend time in the company of young happy people rather than old fogies. Get a pet dog and enjoy playing with your dog. Rediscover your childlike enthusiasm. Stop reminiscing about the “good old days” and start living it up every day doing whatever you like with zest and passion to learn new things like blogging, exploring the internet, the mysteries of information technology and nurture your creative interests, hobbies.
All you’ve got to do is to have a zest for living and passion for learning.
First thing in the morning, the moment you get up, recite your new art of living motto: “Live as if you are going to die tomorrow, learn as if you are going to live forever!”
There is a beautiful and bright young girl who lives in my neighbourhood. She wants to get married but just can’t seem to find anyone suitable matching her requirements. She is surrounded by so many “eligible” boys, colleagues at work and as her friends, and has “seen” and “rejected” a large number of boys her parents and well-wishers keep lining up for her. None of the boys seems to come up to her perfect standards and high expectations. But she does want to get married.
I wonder whether I should tell her this apocryphal Mulla Nasrudin Teaching story – THE PERFECT WIFE :
Mulla Nasrudin was sitting in a tea shop when a friend came excitedly to speak with him.
“I’m about to get married,” his friend said, “and I’m very excited.”
“Tell me, Nasrudin, have you ever thought of marriage yourself?” the friend asked Mulla Nasrudin, who had remained a chronic bachelor.
Nasrudin replied, “I did think of getting married. In my youth, in fact, I very much wanted to get married.”
“So, what happened?” the friend asked curious.
“I wanted to find for myself the perfect wife,” Nasrudin said, “so I travelled looking for the perfect wife. I first went to Damascus. There I met a beautiful woman who was gracious, kind, and deeply spiritual, but she had no worldly knowledge. Then I travelled further and went to Isphahan. There I met a woman who as both spiritual and worldly, beautiful in many ways, but we did not communicate well.”
“Then?” the friend asked.
“I kept on searching for the perfect wife and travelled all over the world meeting so many women,” Nasrudin explained.
“And did you find her? Tell me, did you finally find the perfect wife?” the friend asked eagerly.
“Yes,” Nasrudin said, “after travelling all over finally I went to Cairo and there after much searching I found her. She was spiritually deep, graceful, and beautiful in every respect, at home in the world and at home in the realms beyond it. I knew I had found the perfect wife.”
“Then why did you not marry her?” the friend asked excitedly.
“Alas,” said Nasrudin as he shook his head in dismay, “Unfortunately, she was searching for the perfect husband.”
Tell me, Dear Reader, should I tell the beautiful and bright young girl this story now, or should I wait till she perfects the art of remaining single ?
I am sure you have read a version of this meaningful inspirational story:
A fisherman lived on a tropical island. He fished for his family and had plenty of time to play with his children, to enjoy the beauty around him and to be a good neighbour.
A yacht arrived carrying a wealthy entrepreneur. The fisherman took him out for a day’s fishing.
As the day went on the entrepreneur looked at the beautiful island with its silver sand fringed with palm trees, the calm blue sea filled with a rainbow of darting fish and saw the opportunity for development and making lots of money.
He was a magnanimous man so he thought he must help the fisherman by offering him the idea, so he said to the fisherman, “Why don’t you build a hotel and encourage tourists to come to the island?”
“A hotel?” the fisherman asked perplexed.
“Yes, a hotel,” the businessman said, “In fact you should build a holiday village with a sports complex so people can come and relax. It could be so successful that you could build an air strip so you can offer the whole package to the tourists so you can cut out the middle man and make even greater profits.”
“Why should I do that?” asked the fisherman.
“You would make lots of money and be rich of course!” replied the entrepreneur.
“How long would it take?” asked the fisherman
“I would think it would take ten years to be really successful,” answered the entrepreneur.
“What would I do with all that money?” enquired the fisherman.
“You could go on exotic holidays to a beautiful island where you could fish, play with your children and have plenty of time to enjoy the beauty all around you” replied the entrepreneur.
“But that is exactly what I am doing now, isn’t it?” asked the bewildered fisherman.
There is a Chinese saying – he who knows that enough is enough will always have enough – so as I said in the beginning, “If you know when enough is enough, you will always have enough”.
Money is like petrol in a car. Money is not the car, money is not the destination. The petrol in your car enables you to go from place A to place B. Now suppose you have reached your destination place B. Now money [“petrol”] will also enable you to go from place B to place C – but suppose you are happy and content at being at place B and do not want to go to place C, is the petrol of any use? It is the same with money.
It would be apt to quote Warren Buffet: “I really like my life. I’ve arranged my life so that I can do what I want… I get to do what I like to do every single day of the year…”
Dear Reader, may I wish you happiness now and here, wherever you are and contentment with whatever you have.
I still remember the apt quote from Gordon Gekko [Michael Douglas] in the classic movie “Wall Street”: If you need a friend, get a dog.
It is true – if you need a genuine loving friend just get a dog.
Tell me, what is the highest form of love?
I’ll tell you, it is called Agape Love – the totally pure and selfless love of one person for another.
Do you want to experience this highest form of love, agape love?
Simple, just get yourself a pet dog, a nice cute little puppy, and make a commitment to look after it as your own child.
You will learn The Art of Friendship from your dog.
There is nothing to surpass the strong affection, warm attachment, unselfish loyalty, total trust and true friendship of a pet dog who will love you unconditionally for its entire life.
You will love to come home to the enthusiastic greeting and genuine welcome that your dog will give you each time you return home which will fill you with love and joy.
Your pet dog will give you loyal jovial companionship and unquestioning affection forever, fill you with buoyant happiness and your life will become bright and breezy.
Remember, your girlfriend or boyfriend may dump you, your spouse may divorce you, your children may abandon you, your parents may disown you, your relatives may distance themselves from you, your colleagues may shun you, your neighbours may ostracize you, but your dog will always love you, be loyal to you and never leave your side – yes, you may get rid of your dog, but your dog will always love you and never leave you of its own accord.
In fact, investing your time and love in your dog is much more rewarding than wasting time, money and emotional effort indulging in unrequited romances and infructuous relationships.
Once the dog joins your family, invest your love and time to build a special bond that only a dog can offer and see how your dog makes you learn and practice the Art of Loving and the Art of Friendship.
Just go ahead. Get a pet dog. You’ll be happy you did and your life will change forever.
There is plenty of choice – whether you live in the city or the mofussil, in an apartment or bungalow, whatever your lifestyle, age and state of health, there is always a type of dog which will suit your personality and lifestyle. I’ll tell you more about that later – on what type of dog will suit your lifestyle.
The primary aim of philosophy and spirituality is to help ordinary people live a life of happiness, fulfillment and tranquility. Every day you ask yourself – How do I live a happy life? Is it simple to be happy? What is the art of happiness? Let us see what the Taoist philosopher Mingliaotse has to say: ” The art of attaining happiness consists in keeping your pleasures mild.”
You know that whenever pleasure is present you are happy – this is a fact that cannot be denied – for a pleasure is an enjoyable event or delightful emotion which is bound to make you happy, at least for that moment.
Highfalutin philosophers and spiritual gurus may prescribe various impracticable esoteric paths of renunciation, asceticism or sectarian precepts eschewing enjoyment and pleasure as the sine qua non of happiness, but the fact of the matter is that to the ordinary person happiness and pleasure are inextricably intertwined.
Discovering simple enduring pleasures which you can easily and regularly achieve, realize and enjoy in your day-to-day life will produce contentment, fulfillment and happiness.
No pleasure is a bad thing in itself, but wanton pursuit of pleasures is counterproductive as it leads to over-indulgence and excesses which bring with them disturbances which are detrimental to our happiness and well-being.
In your search for happiness you indulge in extravagant parties, unrestrained consumption, thoughtless shopping, limitless spending, expensive entertainments and try to enjoy everything at once, instant gratification by over-indulgence in wining, dining and dancing, stretching yourself to the maximum limits possible; at first you enjoy yourself and feel happy but when you come to the point of satiety you begin to feel a sense of repulsion, and if you overdo yourself, next morning wake up sick and feeling miserable with a sense of sadness rather than happiness.
Grandiose, complicated, ostentatious, lavish, unrestrained and intemperate indulgences which you think will ostensibly make you happy , in actual fact, render you stressed-out, unhappy and cause you harm and misery in the long run.
There is no need to overdo things in order to be happy. Just keep your pleasures mild. Enjoying a simple, tasty and healthy meal with your loved one’s and friends, or just sitting quietly and leisurely reading a good book, taking a walk enjoying melodious music, enjoying your work, leisure, hobbies are some mild pleasures which will make you happy and keep you healthy too.
It is simple to be happy. The first thing you must do is to introspect and list your most pleasurable activities – things that give you true joy, happiness and satisfaction – in all aspects of your life. Make your list as exhaustive as possible and from this list select those “mild” pleasures that you can enjoy every day or often. And then fit them into your daily routine.
See what happens. Experiment. Delete those “pleasures” that you thought would give you happiness but actually made you stressed-out – things you think would be satisfying but turn out to be unrewarding. Do not be hesitant to add new items to your list – you can always remove them if they fail to produce the desired results. Fine tune and religiously practice your list – and experience happiness every day.
This prescription of keeping your pleasures mild will enable you to structure your life in way where your happiness will be in your control and you will find greater joy in your life. It will be feasible and within your control to ensure that you enjoy these mild pleasures daily or at least fairly regularly and, with only so many hours during the day, these enjoyable events will begin to crowd out the neutral, unpleasant, and irrelevant activities in your daily life and make you feel fulfilled and happy.
Dear reader, start today and discover the art of happiness, the art of living.
And do let me know your experience – did keeping your pleasures mild make you happier?
Try to discover which are those mild pleasures that make you truly happy and joyful.
A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Navy Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a large number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Twitter: @vikramwkarve
EMAIL: vikramkarve@hotmail.com
Vikram Karve 