“Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold. Happiness dwells in the soul.” A quote by Democritus which is so apt in our modern times, as we place more importance on material possessions than the precious gems found within us. Apparently, happiness is a choice; hence we need to be happy within us. This reminds me of a story of a wise woman who was travelling in the mountains and found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, and she opened her bag to share her food. When this man saw a precious stone in her bag, he asked her to give it to him. She did so without any hesitation. The traveller left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."
Sometimes it's not the wealth you have but what's inside you that others need. Remember that a small gesture similar to this wise woman can make a big difference. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention”. These little acts, be it a gesture, actions, or words, are the many small things that we do every day and that naturally express our heart.
Generally, people were more polite 50 years ago, than they are today but there are certain things about our busy, hectic, tech-filled lives when it comes to being kind and showing some old-fashioned politeness. These charming gestures are quickly becoming a thing of the past as we rush around; bury our faces into our phones and ignore those around us. We often feel that we don’t have the time or energy to extend ourselves to others with what we call ‘common courtesy’. Yet, when someone extends some kind of courtesy to us, we always feel touched.
Sometimes the world is too harsh and you never know what to expect from life. The only thing that you can really depend on is one another. Hence, small gestures of love during the difficult patches of life make a big difference. As we move through life, many of us touch other people in little ways that, unknown to us, have a truly profound impact on their lives. If we’re happy only with the possessions of material goods, we are doomed to have just small blinks of satisfaction just as a substitute of happiness, because the effect fades soon and we’ll need another dose to feed our addiction.
When we focus on making small gestures for others, we are going to find these gestures easier to do. Making others happy makes you happy as well, and people will remember you for that. They are more important than what we say as the things we do outlast our mortality. If every person in the world did one small good deed for another person every day, then the world would be a better place, isn’t? Therefore, happiness doesn’t depend on materialistic things. It doesn’t depend on other people, and it doesn’t even depend on money. Happiness comes from