24. YOU CAN'T ACHIEVE HAPPINESS
Most people are chasing happiness. They don't realize that happiness is like a shadow. The more you chase it, the further it goes away. It is our biggest foolishness to think we can achieve happiness. We can't! Happiness is a state of being. We have to be happy, not achieve it.
Isn't it common for us to think that an ice cream will make us happy? To others, it may be a burger or a pizza. Happiness is not a product. You may love a pizza, but if 4 pizzas are kept on the table, you may not feel like eating any more pizzas because you are full. Some people may think happiness is a place. They dream of going to the Maldives or Mauritius to enjoy the white sand beaches and the turquoise waters. Those who realize the Truth, know that a place can't make us truly happy.
Not just a product or a place, even a person cannot give us eternal joy. We think our beloved is a fountain of Joy, but the moment things fall apart, we separate and our happiness becomes misery in the presence of the same person who promised us Bliss. Why? Because happiness is not a product, a place or a person. Happiness is a state of being. We have to learn to be happy. It is an art. We can have everything and be unhappy and may have nothing and be happy. We have to develop the art of being happy. As long as we don't understand this Truth, we will continue to chase happiness and remain miserable.