Why do we feel happy?

Why do we feel happy? Is it driven by an outside force or is it internal? I am a school teacher. One day, I was sitting in the language room during recess, sorting through student activities when a first-grade student came up to me. 

“Ms. Vachi!” she said. Her school dress frolicked along as she skipped and hopped her way in. She didn’t have a question, she just stood there, smiling, waiting for me to start the conversation. 

“How are you dear?” I said. 

“I am happy!” she said, drawing a big circle with her arms. I chuckled, amused by her unconventional response. 

“That’s wonderful!” I said, “Why are you happy?”

And at that moment, I caught myself. Why am I asking her why she is happy? Does she need a reason? If people, things, and situations are what make us happy, then what happens when they change?

“You are peace, you are love, you are joy.” 

- Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

These are the wise words of my guru who is the inspiration behind this story. Happiness is not just an emotion acquired from people and situations. When the mind is free, happiness is just a happening. All of us are full of happy.

In response to my redundant question, my student just shrugged and stood there like a little beam of sunlight without an answer. Children are drawn to what they cannot understand. This curiosity, when channeled, can harness deep introspections and create lifelong habits of mindfulness. The story, Full of Happy, is an effort to inculcate the habit of mindfulness in children.