Pursuit of Unhappiness.... !!!!!!

A butterfly collects nectar day-in and day-out from the flowers. It is relentless in its pursuit. It never gets fatigued. It never gets flustered. It goes on about its job from flower to flower and gets nectar to its heart’s content. There is a certain sense of happiness that it derives from its work. A construction labourer keeps working day-in and day-out and I am sure most of you would agree, he is almost always in a world of his own, humming tunes, whistling at times, he goes about his work with a relentless pursuit. There is also a sense of happiness that he derives from the work that he does. A software engineer goes to the plush AC office, swipes in, checks his mail, talks to his counterpart at onsite, gulps in coffee or tea and starts coding or designing or whatever. But often every activity that I have mentioned above is preceded and succeeded by an unnatural grunting and cribbing about the pathetic work, about the pathetic salary and pathetic company. Not one activity is done with the happiness reflected by the butterfly or for that matter even a construction labourer.

I did not get a good rating at work. I don’t want to work. – This sentence is something which we have heard or probably said umpteen number of times. If your rating is good then – I did not get an opportunity to go to a foreign country. I want an onsite. – would ring through the baritone voices of the ‘Definitely Male Pulsar’ driving hunks or even from the angels driving ‘Why should boys have all the fun - Pleasure’. If you are lucky enough not to hear or utter this dialogue then you are most definitely going to hear this - I did not get a promotion. I want a promotion.

I can hear people shouting at me now for being preachy. I am sure you guys would be thinking – “Yeh saala Manish apne aap ko bahut bada gyaani samajh raha hai aur hum logon ko pravachan de raha hai.”
Honestly, if I was in your place, I would have felt the same. There is no denying this fact. But there is no denying the fact which I disclosed in the previous paragraph as well. I too have said the second statement often. But as they say – The higher you fly, the heavier you fall. I too had lofty ambitions of being at onsite. But as fate would have it, I got completely bored and ‘de-bedazzled’ and disenchanted with an alien land. As they say in Hindi – “Main to onsite se dum dabaake bhaga” !!!!!!

I have often seen some of my friends never happy with what they have. Always thinking about something which they don’t have rather than being happy with what they have. I have seen people going after frivolous things. I have seen people relentlessly pursuing for unhappiness. Yes.. Unhappiness. People have been so much obsessed with others that they tend to compare each and everything vis-à-vis others making their current possessions irrelevant and unwanted. Hmm… there is a need for some food-for-thought for everyone including your self-proclaimed gyaani… How we do this? I leave it to the individuals as everyone has a way with it. I just had to throw in a bit of petrol or gasoline (which my US counterparts would better connect with) into a raging fire within everyone. Let it burn and let it also burn my article with it. I would be there to douse that flame with some other article pretty soon!!!!!!!