I came across this nice article sometime back.
The author asks a very simple question: He asked me: "Why do you think that another person is responsible for your happiness?"
The topic of the article was general causes of depression, getting over personal grief, etc.
The question though very basic is very pertinent because at least I have never thought about things like that.
Whenever I have had a fight with a friend, whenever someone close has passed away,, whenever something has gone wrong I have time and again gone back and somehow blamed myself. The point is not who was at fault. The point is whether some object, some person is really the cause of your true happiness.
While our friends do give us happiness, I believe that true happiness can come only form a content mind. Someone not confident in his own shoes, will always look externally for happiness. Tagore writes: "chokher aloy dekhechilem chokher bahire. Ontore aj dekhbo jokhon alok nahi re". It means that "I saw the world using my inner light. But cannot see inside myself, because there's only darkness"
The key, the author argues is 2-fold.
1. An elevated sense of self-worth and
2. A personal purpose in life
I am a big believer in self confidence for I know the power of positive thinking. However, as Shakespeare once said, " I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching".
To keep that confidence and belief going in hard times is tough even for the brave hearted.
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