The Happiest Person
And a lifelong lesson
I was drunk on the idea of happiness as a grown-up. Maybe because I was looking for it.
I read countless books on the subject and followed their advice. It often left me more exhausted than before. I was certainly not happy.
I asked my parents and teachers, and they all had their own versions of it. I chased those ideas. I succeeded in building a high-paying career. I bought everything money could buy. But happiness still evaded me, leaving me even more confused.
I then watched endless documentaries and movies that even slightly mentioned happiness. But I found nothing substantial that I hadn’t already heard.
Disheartened, I gave up on the entire façade.
A few years later, I visited my mother-in-law with my wife and our child.
She lived alone in a centuries-old house her husband had built. The walls were older than most of the neighbours. The green paint felt outdated to modern urban aesthetics.
“These walls have seen three generations grow up,” my wife joked.
There was no proper water purifier. The concept of an air purifier didn’t exist in this part of the world. The flooring looked worn, as if it had grown tired from decades of footsteps.
The dining table we ate at felt like it might collapse any moment—even if my two-year-old kicked it.
Cars? That was too much to ask for.
She was a teacher and took immense pride in her work. The fees she charged were less than what I spent on coffee powder in a year. When I tried to convince her to charge more, she would often say she valued what she was giving back.
My mother-in-law returned from church and was ecstatic to see us.
“What did you ask God for today?” I asked as she hugged my child.
She smiled. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?” I asked, surprised.
“Nothing,” she said again. “I just thanked Him for all the happiness He has given me in this life.”
She was content with what life had given her—and that contentment had brought her all the happiness anyone could ask for.
No expectations.
No blind ambition.
Just gratitude—and the freedom to enjoy what life offered.
That’s when I understood:
stop expecting,
start accepting.
P.S. This is a story from my upcoming book, “Quiet Clarity,” which carries short stories with something to ponder upon.
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