Inner Peace - The Source of Enduring Happiness

By Joseph Dabon

Don't you want to be happy?

Unless the misery genes are in your blood or you are born to martyrdom, I am sure you want to be happy, too. In fact, everybody wants to be happy. Never mind if it has eluded a lot of people. The chase goes on to find that formula, that elixir, that combination of circumstances that can put an extra "zing" into people's lives; make their hearts sing with joy.

Finding happiness isn't easy; and keeping it for the long term more difficult. Life is full of happiness-stealers that puts most of us in a roller coaster ride of emotional highs and lows. Some live their lives in a flat line of doom and gloom.

Very few succeed in achieving a constant emotional high. These are those whose happiness is not based on what is outwardly pleasurable but on inner peace and contentment.

They lead balanced lives, though may not be of abundance. Nothing can take their happiness away because it emanates from the inside rather than induced from the outside by such things as wealth, fame, prestige, relationships and all those things people covet in their quest for happiness.

Such is the case of one of my cousins. His story is like that of a being ran over by a road roller. Yet he exudes a certain degree of serenity difficult to comprehend, much more, emulate.

Meet my cousin:

He is only two years older than I, at 67. But he could be 10 yrs older because he looks more somber than a priest administering the last rites; he looks like a walking obituary.

He is not like this in his younger days, though. He used to be a very jolly guy, always sought after at parties. He played good tennis and he was one of the best players in our basketball team.

Then one of those things life throws at us every so often hit him real hard..

He spent a fortune (part of it was borrowed) to send his wife overseas to work as a nanny. After about a couple of years in the U.S., she married another guy without his consent. To add salt to injury, his ex-wife had their daughter, whom he doted so much on, join her there on the pretext of a vacation. She never came back.

It was all downhill for him, physically, after that. He has had a stroke, a severe case of varicose that makes walking a painful endeavor, a high blood pressure problem and Type 2 diabetes.

Studies upon studies have shown that happy people are healthier than those who are not. Their antibodies are working like clockwork, they recover fast from illnesses and they look young and youthful than those ridden with diseases.

How about sick people? Can they be happy, too?

Outside appearances aside, (due to his infirmities and having to subsist on very meager allowance from his daughter), my cousin remains steadfast. He has learned to acclimatized himself to the storms of his life.

Though he flinches with pain each time he walks, he remains serene. He has accepted his lot as one of the inevitabilities of life and embraced something bigger than all his sufferings, combined.

He found peace, contentment and joy by getting involved in church activities as a lay minister.

I don't know if his going into what he is doing is a calling or to seek refuge from the storms of his life. What is certain is that he has found something that gives meaning to his life; something to look forward to each day as he wakes up.

Something others in similar situations can take lessons from.

I am a retired engineer and I keep my lights burning by writing.

I write about life, happiness, health, relationship and sex taken from my experiences in life.

Come and visit me at http://www.joespulpbits.com. Leave a comment and I will get back o your fast as I can. Your concern is my concern.

I am also a freelance, writer, a ghost blogger and can do news releases should you ever need one. . I am also a successful GDI (Global Domains International), affiliate.

Joseph Dabon

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