Happiness is a State of Mind

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simply positive thoughts

I was watching Disney’s famous movie “Inside Out” the other day. Those of you who are unaware of what it is, let me give a backdrop about this movie. It is a story of a young girl Riley and five characters that live inside her head namely – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust. This movie depicts how these five emotions control the life of Riley. It was hilarious to see all the emotions materialize as characters. Can you imagine Sadness saying, “Remember that funny movie where the dog died?” Well, that’s what happiness must be for Sadness. Haha! And what about Fear trying to quit his job out of Fear? Poor guy later found out that he is an important emotion and cannot quit. Anyway, every time Riley got upset, Joy would try to force happy thoughts on her. Joy tried, with all her might, to seclude Sadness in a corner while she made Riley’s life joyous. She assumed that keeping Sadness at bay would keep Riley cheerful. Later in the movie Joy realized that Sadness is compassionate and warm. Sadness understands the pain and helps to mourn. Sadness is an essential part of life. It needs to be accepted to move on. Well, all in all it was a funny movie with a very important moral – Seeking happiness in the middle of crisis is stupid!

It is safe to assume that there can be no feeling of joy without sadness. If you are patient enough to let the rain stop, then you will get to enjoy the scent of the wet soil (Google will tell you that we have a word for it – petrichor). Although I’ve never said, “Oh I love petrichor!” because even I learned this word today!

Acceptance is the first step towards healing. It is kind of sad that I never really understood this till recently. Every time I got upset over a sad situation, I used to rush my mind into thinking happy thoughts to keep me calm. This used to get me even more exhausted - over the sad situation and for a fact that I wasn’t happy. But, better late than never. Now I realize that you cannot be happy all the time. Happy thoughts are only a diversion. Shutting eyes in the face of trouble will lead you nowhere. Feel the problem, understand it thoroughly and choose your option – either fight it or accept it and move on. What is the worst that could go wrong? You worked for something and failed at it. You wasted a month? A year?  You’re exhausted? Tired of failing? Feeling humiliated? Fell to the bottom of the pit? Well, as long as you’re alive, you can always crawl back up.

We must train our minds to keep thinking whichever emotion we are feeling now. Anger will subdue, Fear will abate, Sadness will teach, and Joy will give you the motivation to keep moving.


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