Is this Happiness?

Is this Happiness?

By Divya Gahlot

(17BCE0509)

“Work Harder today, so that you can find peace tomorrow. Struggle today, so that you get whatever you want tomorrow.” We have been listening to this sine we were born, since the day we stepped into this life. And as a matter of fact, every one of us is yet struggling to achieve even a fraction of it. Did we ever, wait, pause for a moment, and think, that what actually are we dreaming and aspiring about? Or just going on with the flow, just because we consider, that if we continue to move on that path, we shall achieve our goals someday? Sad reality strikes, but this is the truth of our very own lives. Day after day, month after month, year after year, we are trying to follow something which we do not even know why. But how long shall this continue?

Sir Einstein, gave a very beautiful definition to happiness. He said, “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the constant pursuit of success combined with restlessness.” He believed, that the mantra to success was not actually the destination, but the journey. It doesn’t matter, the level of success that we reach one day, if we are in a constant hustle and restlessness. Calmness, and satisfaction along the journey are equally important.

But is this what we actually believe today? The world has its own definition to happiness. We’re constantly told to push our boundaries, to do this, to that, so that one day we taste the success of life. If we work real hard, we would be happy, because it would lead to us being successful. But did we ever think, where is all this actually leading to? We are actually running on the definition of success that others would want to see in us. Sir Einstein brought light onto this fact using a very simple example. Suppose we enter a shop with loads of beautiful watches, each one of them really expensive and amazing. Would we be truly happy if we work real hard day and night for the watch and then buy it someday and show it to the world, or would we be truly happy if we no longer have any craving for the watch? A deep question, but it truly opens grounds for logical thinking. A simple, yet a powerful example. The fundamental principles of our very existence seem delusional, when we think of it deeply.

What actually is happiness? Will we ever get to know, to experience, what is it? Will getting Supercars, or Luxury houses make us truly happy? Are awards an answer to happiness? Ask the famous Actor Jim Carrey, and he would say otherwise. He says, “I wish everyone to become rich and famous, so that they could see for themselves, that that’s not the answer”.  

So, let us just stop rushing through our days in the hopes of being happy sometime in the future, and instead, embrace a calm and modest way of life and experience the happiness we all deserve. Let us all live in the moment, and enjoy its beauty. Because, we really do not need any reason to be truly happy, we can find happiness in the little things of life, and embrace them.

***

My Six Months at VIT
-By Divya Gahlot
  (17BCE0509)


Never had I thought, one day, I would be sitting on my
bed, writing this post. My journey here, in VIT, in the
past six months, trying to sum it up. It’s as difficult to try
to sum up the experiences, as it is training a parakeet
how to speak. Words themselves today, become a limit.
Some things, are just unexplainable to others, and my
journey here is one such.

When I entered this Prestigious institution, with my
parents, I had mixed thoughts. Will, I be able to survive
in this Unknown land? Will, I be able to move with the
flow? Some questions seemed answerable, and some
not. Being from the distant lands of Delhi, I feared that
language may become an issue for my communication
and interaction with other people. When my parents bid
me a final goodbye, I still remember, me standing by the
footpath, trying to engulf my overflowing tears, trying to
be a strong daughter, just so my parents know their
daughter is strong enough to handle things on her own, I
knew that I had grown up. I had never enjoyed taking
ownerships of responsibilities, but now I had realized,
that time had come, and I had to.

I met my roommates, who seemed all kind and humble
(thank god for that). We, all, came from different
backgrounds, and thus had different memories to share
and laugh about. With time, I now realize, it were these
differences that brought us all closer, willing to do things
that only siblings would do for each other. Yes, we had
grown so close. We still are the best of friends.
Talking about the Academic side, it hell surely was
difficult. New Curriculum, new timings, new people, and
surely, a complete new environment of competition. The
sudden change from school curriculums to the college
front was surely difficult for me, but so was for others. I
would come back from my class at seven at night, and
then sit with my books to manage the studies part. But
the online systems followed at VIT, surely made my life
miserable. I couldn’t upload my experiments on time, the
site would crash frequently, and I couldn’t manage doing
the digital assignments with the academic studies. So
much so, that I often found myself curled up in my bed,
crying my heart out. But this, this too, I realize today,
that made me stronger, day by day.

And the life here was no less than an adventurous ride.
Gravitas, Riviera, and all the cultural fests made this
place a living heaven. Those were, I would say, the best
days here for me at VIT. The friends I made here were
pretty amazing, and I loved talking to each one of them.
They were the only outlets for my distress. Classes
seemed a bore without them. And my assignments
were, I would say, completed on time only because of
them. We would sit together for hours, trying to
comprehend minds and ideas together, and living and
sharing our stories, and laughing. Life here, was really a
bliss, because of them.

Today, when somebody asks me, what did I learn from
this place, I am left speechless. Not because I didn’t
learn anything, but because, I learnt so much, that it
really is difficult for me to comprehend. Six months ago,
I was just a lazy dope person, unaware of the
happenings around the World, unaware of my
belongings, unaware of my responsibilities, unaware of
my relations. Heck, it seemed like an impossible task to
me to even order food at dominos, let alone travelling
without parents. But today, it is all being done. I’ve
travelled 2500 kilometers away from my house, alone,
into the distant and unknown lands, I’ve learnt how to
withdraw money, I’ve learnt how to take up
responsibilities and do my things on my own. I’ve learnt
not to rely upon somebody to get my works done. I’ve
learnt the importance of Relationships. I’ve learnt to
balance all the things in life, all the different spheres of
life. I’ve learnt to accept the harsh bitterness of failures,
and enjoy the sweet taste of success. I’ve learnt to
maintain my composure even in the times of distress. All
in all, I would say, that this experienced has changed
me as a person from the core, and the change surely
has been for the good!

So, my summed-up Life, here, at VIT? Amazing, is all I

would say. So much has been explored, yet there’s so

much more, yet to be. I thank my lucky stars, that I got

to experience all this in my life, an experience that I

would surely cherish throughout my life, each and every

day, until I grow old, and recite the same old cherry

experiences with the next generations!

                                         ***