A JOURNEY CALLED HAPPINESS

Once upon a time, there lived a stone in a garden. All the pretty flowers in the garden were his companions. But instead of being happy, he grumbled from morning till night, “I’m so fed up of living here, in the company of these silly flowers. This life is so dull and uninteresting. I want to live on the road, where all the fun and excitement is!!!”

On hearing this, the flowers felt very sad.

One day a young lad came to play in the garden and he absent mindedly began kicking the stone about. Finally the stone landed on the roadside. The stone was joyful and said, “Hurray, I’m off to see the world. Bye, Bye you silly flowers!!!”

Very soon, he found himself near a pile of black fierce looking stones. He greeted them, “Hello, good morning! I’m so thrilled to be here. I am your new neighbor. My name is ……..”

One grumpy stone interrupted him, “Shut up, you idiot! I’m having a splitting headache, listening to all these traffic sounds. I’m in no mood to listen to your stupid talk.”

The stone felt hurt and kept quiet. He looked around for someone else to talk to. No one looked as if they were interested to speak with him.

Suddenly he screamed, “Oh, Oh!! What was that hard thing that went over me?”

The other black stones mockingly said, “Oh that was just a cart. You’ll get used to them after several hundreds go over you.” The stone was close to tears.

Again he cried out, “Oh, Oh I’m getting choked. What was that?”

The others laughed and replied, “Smoke. You mustn’t feel upset; very soon you will become as black and ugly as we are.

The stone burst out crying, “This is terrible, this is not what I expected. I cannot bear this.”

The whole night, the stone was kept busy dodging vehicles and wiping soot from his eyes. He could not sleep at all. By morning he was a nervous wreck. The thought of another day on the road really scared him.

But just then, along came the same boy who had earlier kicked him and believe it or not, he kicked the little stone right back into the same garden. His friends, the flowers were overjoyed to have him back and bobbed up and down in great excitement.

The stone said, “How happy I am, to be back with you! Never again will I wish to go back to the main street. Forgive me for treating you so shabbily in the past. I am happy to be here in your company!”

This story teaches us one important lesson i.e. to learn to be happy where God has placed us!

Do you find your workplace boring?? Your work tedious?? Do you find your boss impossible? Do you face a lot of problems at home? Do you find your spouse boring? Your family life dull?  Are you looking for a dramatic change in your life??

Always remember, the circumstances, the people around us, our surroundings, everything has been put into our lives by God and he expects us to be happy where he has placed us.

He has done it in his infinite wisdom; we cannot fathom His reasons, with our finite intelligence; so it is best that we do not dwell on them.

If we search for happiness and fulfillment elsewhere, outside of God’s will, it may spell disaster for us, as it did for the stone.

If we are unhappy in the place that God has placed us, chances are that we would be unhappy elsewhere too.

To be happy or not is our decision.  The little stone had pre decided in his mind that he would not be happy as long as he was in the garden. He was waiting for a change in his circumstances so that he could be happy.

Today, are we waiting for a change in job, family, boss, colleagues, financial status, or anything else so that we can be happy?? Or are we content where God has placed us? We need to appreciate the fact that one more day to live, on the face of this earth is a gift from God! Every moment is precious!  Every minute is priceless!!! Every second is invaluable. The clock is ticking!!! Stop waiting………smile——–laugh—–Rejoice……Be happy!!!!

And do remember this lovely quote always by Francis Kong

Stop waiting
-until your car or home is paid off
-until you get a new car or home
-until your kids leave the house
-until you go back to school
-until you finish school
-until you lose 10 lbs.
-until you gain 10 lbs.
-until you get married
-until you have kids
-until summer
-until December
-until you die

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.