Happiness

When people ask me what I want to do when I grow up, I say, "I want to change the world."

That's a tough one, don't you think? In a world full of war, poverty and hatred, it's definitely not possible. Well, that's what some say.

But you know what I think? There is hope. And you find it everywhere - old couples who've been together for a long time, little kids running around the playground, inspirational books, little babies, changing of the seasons, a brand new day - I find hope in everything single little thing. I find it every minute of everyday.

Around me, I find people of my age, doing drugs, going to parties - just to 'fit in', just to gain attention. We're so busy being selfish, comparing ourselves to others, setting unrealistic goals for ourselves, wanting to look prettier or lose more weight; make more money, be more popular.

But then I think, is that really what life's all about? There are innocent kids out there, being abused, murdered, raped, orphaned, and hungry. And here we all are, complaining about how tough our lives are, on us.

Most of us self harm and are always depressed. Why do we always try to run away from our problems, rather than just facing them? I mean this is life! You cannot run away from it, and you can definitely not hide from it.

All we can do is accept what life gives us, and face our problems, face our difficulties, face our frustrations. And maybe, just maybe, they'll turn into your best friends, your companions. They'll make you stronger, they'll help you face reality and they'll teach you to value the little things in life.

Because we always fail to look at the brighter side of things, we always fail to find happiness in little things. There are so many beautiful things around which we seldom notice. Maybe that is why people don't find happiness; we keep looking for it in the wrong places - money, fame.

'FIND' happiness - we all think it's some sort of destination. We keep "looking" for it; we wake up everyday wishing it would be the day where everything went right, wishing everything will turn okay, where we're completely happy and nothing upsetting would happen.

What we all fail to understand is that happiness isn't really something that we can "find". It's not a destination, it's not something you find along the road of life; it's a choice, a feeling - you can be happy wherever, whenever, only if you CHOOSE to be. Happiness is something within you, waiting to be found, waiting to keep you company, waiting to help you escape from this harsh reality.

So here are your questions:

Are you happy?

Have you found what you were looking for?

Do you think life is tough?

I hope you're happy with whatever you do. Life can be tough at times, so I hope you find the strength to face whatever it gives you.