Living a happy and peaceful life

Quest for happiness is universal and people start looking for it since their birth and continue to do so till their death. Searching for happiness remains an unending story for most of the people. But some find happiness through a peaceful life without much of hardship. Now the question is, "What is Happiness?" We often mix up between happiness and peace. Actually we do not clearly understand what to look for. Is it happiness or peace?

People need to understand what happiness and peace are. These two are quite different from each other. Happiness is directly related to or resultant of attainment, achievement or fulfilment of some desire or demand. Once the desire or demand is met, then we become happy. But human satisfaction is not limited to fulfilment of one desire only. With the fulfilment of one desire, craving for something new comes up and we start pursuing for the accomplishment of that new desire. So long the new desire is not fulfilled, we remain unhappy. And once that is fulfilled, we again become happy. But, by then, newer desires are queuing in the pipeline to be met. Some philanthropists say that happiness is that state of mind when the heart remains open. On the other hand, with the closure of heart, life becomes unhappy. So it is seen that state of being happy is very short-lived and conditional.

Again, peace is quietness inside that can be achieved by leaving all the desires. Peace is nothing but accepting the life as it is and is not dependent on anything else. With peace, we become more happy, conscious and alive. There is a misconception that peace makes life dull, but that is not true. Actually, peace is not a state of dullness rather calmness. People who discover inner peace can lead lives to the fullest and can enjoy every moment.

Hence, it can be said that people should not be in pursuit of happiness rather they should look for inner peace of mind. Now the obvious question comes to our mind, how to be in peace in this era of worldly desires.

First and foremost virtue one should try to inculcate is to have patience. All other virtues associated with the state of being in peace will automatically be visible to the person who can display patience in his life. Patience is to hold one's soul from being impatient and displeased, holding the tongue from complaining and the body parts from harming himself or others. Patience is actually accepting our inabilities to control all the happenings in our lives. Patience' is mentioned at as many as ninety places in the holy Quran and our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) displayed this noble virtue in every aspect of his life. Allah (SWT) said in the Quran, "Allah surely loves those who are the swabireen (patient)." (3:146). To exercise patience in the moment, one needs to pick up on the thoughts and physical feelings of being impatient and try to find out the causes behind, take some moment to shift the perspective about the situation and find something good or interesting in that situation. Taking the impatience in perspective, one needs to be kind to his shortcomings and accept that all the expectations might not always be met. Listing the things in life for which we feel grateful, building up self-confidence and finally firm belief in Almighty Allah are the keys to have long term patience in life.

To remain in peace, we need to be grateful to Almighty Allah. Thanking Allah (SWT), our Creator, for what we have and what we got rather than complaining what we did not get, is the key to peace. For this we need to understand that everything is not under our control, rather is being controlled by our Creator. Hence remaining contented with His blessings and mercy and finally expressing gratefulness to Allah (SWT), can ease much of our sufferings and can make our lives happy and peaceful.

We need to learn to forgive others and not to be angry for any misdeed committed by them for long time. Looking for follies in others will not give us comfort rather we get that by ignoring the follies. Simple act of love and forgiveness can make us happy and peaceful. So long we are angry we cannot remain in peace and can only waste our time.Hence, controlling the anger and restraining ourselves can lead us to be happy and peaceful.

We need to seek Allah (SWT)'s forgiveness at all times for our sins and wrongdoings. Even our Prophet (PBUH), the best of the best of the creations, used to seek forgiveness at every step of his life. We need to beg to Almighty Allah so that He does not see us in the eyes of justice rather in the eyes of mercy. If Allah (SWT) sees us in the eyes of justice, then we will not be able to escape from the wrath for the sins we committed. Only forgiveness from Almighty Allah can keep us in peace both in this world and hereafter.

Last but not the least, we need to be optimistic in every walk of life. We need to find out the opportunities in difficulties. We should not be demoralized by just not finding everything according to the plan. Rather we should be ready to accept the unexpected and consider that something good is waiting and the bad patch will soon be over.Firm trust on Almighty Allah can refrain us from wrongdoings and at the same time can keep us in peace

At the end, it can be said that one should not be busy happiness, a short-lived state of mind and soul, rather, should live a life of serenity, self-contentment, tranquillity and peace. Peace of mind keeps the individual contented and happy at all times and is not dependent on any attainment or achievement. To lead a peaceful life, one must inculcate the virtue of patience and need to restrain from being impatient in controlling anger. He should be thankful and grateful to Almighty Allah, seek His forgiveness and be optimistic at every moment of Allah (SWT)'s mercy and blessings. With all these, one can find the inner peace of mind and at the same time can also expect to be rewarded in the life hereafter.