The businessman was astonished and asked the fisherman, “How come you can be so happy having caught only few fish ? ”

The fisherman replied, “Well, after fishing, I go back and spend quality time with my family, play with the kids, help my wife around in the kitchen, eat lunch together and evening comes, I meet up with my buddies, return home and the family prays together, enjoy supper and retire to bed happily.”

“Why don’t you spend more time at sea and catch more fish? With the money saved, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to buy more boats, set up your own company and you can live like a king in your own house.”

The businessman said, “After that, you can finally retire, move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch few fish, then return home to spend quality time with your family and when evening comes, you can meet up with your buddies, return home, pray with your family, eat together and retire to bed happily.”

Isn’t happiness a state of the mind? We generally associate it with external factors - money, house, cars etc. and go on a wild goose chase, acquiring them in the hope of attaining peace & happiness, only to discover that we are chasing a mirage.

By Sidharrth Hariharan, Covai Chinmayam Retirement Community