Two days ago, I had the idea of writing this post because my dad scolded me about how fortunate I was to come from a good family and that instead I kept on focusing on stuff I want instead of thanking God for the stuff I already have and a few other issues I have. (those are personal issues, so don't ask) So anyway, the main intention of that little scolding was to get me to be a nicer guy, but at the same time, this is the first time I've also recorded his lessons (and also the first time I've ever recorded a real life event) on the blog. Here are the stuff he said (In a much louder voice, of course)
So if you want to be happy instantly, think about how fortunate you are. If you're thinking, "I won't be happy until I get the new iPhone" or "I won't be happy until I get a Porsche" or any other thought like that, you'll (probably) never get happy. Why? Well, chances are that it'll possibly go on like this: When you get that thing you want, it'll go like this: After you get that Porsche, you'll probably think, "Now I want a Ferrari" or "Now I want a Nitrous Oxide boost tank for my Porsche" and stuff like that. The point is, after you get what you want, you'll always want something else. If you want to be happy easily, here's how:
Think of all those unfortunate kids on the street or people who don't have as many possessions as we have. They're begging on the streets for money or working as a lowly typical office worker who's underpaid. They don't have such awesome stuff as we do. They don't have a 15-inch Plasma TV or any other expensive item. They thank God for every single coin that they receive and even if their lives are so miserable, they still thank God for giving them the chance to live at all.
Yesterday in the church, I was quite interested in the story the priest was telling. He told a story about a wealthy, rich and exalted family that passed a family of beggars on the street. The wealthy family saw the beggars on the street and gave them a Rp.10.000 bill. (around US $ 0.97) the family of beggars looked at the money and looked like they wanted to kiss the rich family (they didn't, of course) and began cheering about their unbelievable luck. "Yes! Thank you, God! Thanks to Your good fortune, now we can buy food and live another day! Thank you kind sir, you are His angel!" was one of the beggars' praises when they saw the money.
After looking at the beggars' such happy faces at such little money, the rich family continued their journey. The dad of the rich family (who gave the beggars the money) stated, "Why were they so happy? I only gave them $0.97.". His wife wisely replied, "Honey, look at those beggars out there. They have such little cash in their hands and typical people only give beggars $0.01 to $0.05 around here. When you gave them $0.97, it was more than 19 times the regular amount people gave them. On the other hand, we keep on wishing for more and more stuff instead of thanking God for the possessions that we already have."
So there. Why keep wishing of things you don't have when your possessions are already enough satisfying for you? To be happy, imagine yourself in a poor person's shoes. You are supposed to be happy, considering what you have compared to them.
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