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Eight clues to happiness
I HAVE READ:
EIGHT CLUES TO HAPPINESS
By- KHUSHWANT SINGH
Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing
over what a person should strive for to achieve
happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I
put forward for the readers' appraisal.
1. First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not
enjoy good health you can never be happy. Any ailment,
however trivial, will deduct from your happiness.
2. Second, a HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into
crores but should be enough to provide for creature
comforts and something to spare for recreation, like
eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going
on holidays on the hills or by the sea. Shortage of
money can be only demoralizing. Living on credit or
borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own
eyes.
3. Third, a HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never
give you the snug feeling of a nest which is yours for
keeps that a home provides: if it has a garden space,
all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see
them grow and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship
with them.
4. Fourth, an UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your
spouse or a friend. If there are too many
misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of
mind. It is better to be divorced than to bicker all
the time.
5. Fifth, LACK OF ENVY towards those who have done
better than you in life; risen higher, made more money,
or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid
comparing yourself with others.
6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you
for gup-shup. By the time you get rid of them, you will
feel exhausted and poisoned by their gossip-mongering.
7. Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you
a sense of fulfilment, such as gardening, reading,
writing, painting, playing or listening to music. Going
to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet
celebrities is criminal waste of time.
8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes
to INTROSPECTION. In the morning, 10 minutes should be
spent on stilling the mind and then five in listing
things you have to do that day. In the evening, five
minutes to still the mind again, and ten to go over
what you had undertaken to do.
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May all of us be blessed with Divine Bliss.
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