Two men met across a table at a bar. One was an old man, with clothes tattered, and the other was a young man, well dressed and groomed. They both ordered drinks and waited. While they waited, the the young one sighed out of despair and noticed the old man whistling and singing to how happy he seemed. The young one couldn't stop but ask him, "What are you so happy about when there's so much suffering and drudgery in the world?"
The happy man turned towards him, looked at him for a moment, and said, "Why d'you look so worried?".
The sad one replied, "Where do I start? I've lost it all! All the good times are over. There's distrust, dismay and destruction everywhere. I lost in my business, failed to keep my promises, my wife left me, my friends betrayed me, and I've ended up suffering every time! I've had enough of it already for a lifetime."
The happy one just smiled and filled his glass again. The sad one looked up at him and asked, "Aren't you sad about anything at all?", for which he asked back, "Why be sad about anything?".
The sad one was not convinced with the answer. He further probed, "You must be crazy! How can you never feel unhappy about anything at least once?". The happy one says, "Who said I don't feel unhappy? I meant, why be unhappy when you needn't be!"
"I don't understand", said the sad man. "You wouldn't be so sad if you did", said the happy man and smiled.
The sad one leaned forward, and asked, "How come?". The happy man took another sip and said, "You could change it anytime, if you want to."
"But how?"
"Simple. Just do anything that could make someone happy, however small or big it could be."
"I see your point, but how would making someone else happy make me happy?"
The old man kept his glass down and looked straight in the eye of the man across, and said, "The reason you are not happy is because you try to own happiness by looking at it like a commodity. It cannot be bought for money, nor sold or exchanged for anything. It can only be bartered with happiness. Now all of you can be happy! If you ask me, I neither own happiness nor sadness. I only choose which one to pay more attention."
The young man's face lit up for the first time like an idea flashed in his mind, but soon grimaced with skepticism. "Do you really think that's what all of us need to be happy and make someone happy? How does that work?"
To this, the happy man said, "If you think you could buy happiness anywhere, go ahead and own all of it. Soon you'd be robbed of it and left wanting for more until you stop looking at it like some object to possess. What you fail to see is that it is a part of you and you have been suppressing it for too long from within by looking for it elsewhere. You have so much of it inside you, a whole lifetime of unending happiness. Why waste it on worrying and sorrow otherwise? Dig deep and share it with the world. You could either spend all of it on making someone happy and being yourself joyful, or keep worrying like before and curse the world for the bad state it is in. Don't you feel all of us do the same too many a times? Well, I did, too, before I finally stopped worrying. It's pointless, after all, as you'll see."
"What if I couldn't really do anything though I wanted to?", the sad one, well, nearly happy now, asked out another doubt.
"When you can't give them anything at all, at least give them hope!" said Mr Happy, lighting a cigarette, and rose up as he finished his drink.
The no-more-sad-man was amazed at how simple the solution was and yet how complex it had appeared earlier. The more he thought about it, the better he felt about it.
Although the drink was starting to take its toll on him slowly, he knew it wasn't the reason for the sudden gush of hope and delight he was experiencing. Because there was actually a solution that he had failed to see and assess the greatness it hid within. He suddenly got up and rushed towards the old man as if remembering to ask something and stopped him saying, "Um... Excuse me, Sir! I have to tell you, that I'd never felt so lighter before! I don't know how to express how grateful I am to you," with a big grin beaming on his face. "By the way, what do you do to make people happy, like you said?"
The old man puffed on his cigarette, blew out the smoke as he smiled, tapped on the man's shoulder and said, "I just did!", and walked away.
The happy man turned towards him, looked at him for a moment, and said, "Why d'you look so worried?".
The sad one replied, "Where do I start? I've lost it all! All the good times are over. There's distrust, dismay and destruction everywhere. I lost in my business, failed to keep my promises, my wife left me, my friends betrayed me, and I've ended up suffering every time! I've had enough of it already for a lifetime."
The happy one just smiled and filled his glass again. The sad one looked up at him and asked, "Aren't you sad about anything at all?", for which he asked back, "Why be sad about anything?".
The sad one was not convinced with the answer. He further probed, "You must be crazy! How can you never feel unhappy about anything at least once?". The happy one says, "Who said I don't feel unhappy? I meant, why be unhappy when you needn't be!"
"I don't understand", said the sad man. "You wouldn't be so sad if you did", said the happy man and smiled.
The sad one leaned forward, and asked, "How come?". The happy man took another sip and said, "You could change it anytime, if you want to."
"But how?"
"Simple. Just do anything that could make someone happy, however small or big it could be."
"I see your point, but how would making someone else happy make me happy?"
The old man kept his glass down and looked straight in the eye of the man across, and said, "The reason you are not happy is because you try to own happiness by looking at it like a commodity. It cannot be bought for money, nor sold or exchanged for anything. It can only be bartered with happiness. Now all of you can be happy! If you ask me, I neither own happiness nor sadness. I only choose which one to pay more attention."
The young man's face lit up for the first time like an idea flashed in his mind, but soon grimaced with skepticism. "Do you really think that's what all of us need to be happy and make someone happy? How does that work?"
To this, the happy man said, "If you think you could buy happiness anywhere, go ahead and own all of it. Soon you'd be robbed of it and left wanting for more until you stop looking at it like some object to possess. What you fail to see is that it is a part of you and you have been suppressing it for too long from within by looking for it elsewhere. You have so much of it inside you, a whole lifetime of unending happiness. Why waste it on worrying and sorrow otherwise? Dig deep and share it with the world. You could either spend all of it on making someone happy and being yourself joyful, or keep worrying like before and curse the world for the bad state it is in. Don't you feel all of us do the same too many a times? Well, I did, too, before I finally stopped worrying. It's pointless, after all, as you'll see."
"What if I couldn't really do anything though I wanted to?", the sad one, well, nearly happy now, asked out another doubt.
"When you can't give them anything at all, at least give them hope!" said Mr Happy, lighting a cigarette, and rose up as he finished his drink.
The no-more-sad-man was amazed at how simple the solution was and yet how complex it had appeared earlier. The more he thought about it, the better he felt about it.
Although the drink was starting to take its toll on him slowly, he knew it wasn't the reason for the sudden gush of hope and delight he was experiencing. Because there was actually a solution that he had failed to see and assess the greatness it hid within. He suddenly got up and rushed towards the old man as if remembering to ask something and stopped him saying, "Um... Excuse me, Sir! I have to tell you, that I'd never felt so lighter before! I don't know how to express how grateful I am to you," with a big grin beaming on his face. "By the way, what do you do to make people happy, like you said?"
The old man puffed on his cigarette, blew out the smoke as he smiled, tapped on the man's shoulder and said, "I just did!", and walked away.
