Be Happy, Accept, Move Forward

It had been a miserable morning, another day of dragging myself to work with absolutely no enthusiasm. I hopped in to the taxi to head to the office. As we drove to the destination, I noticed a very beautiful Laughing Buddha. I said aloud "Oh, this Laughing Buddha is so lovely."

The driver smiled and said "Yes, he is happy, you are happy. If he doesn't smile, then you are sad." in his broken English. He continued on "You have to be happy irrespective of the situation. Smile - it is very important. Even if someone says something really bad to you, smile. Because if you smile, whatever the other person says won't hurt you."

"Never lose your patience. If you lose your patience, you stop thinking straight. Again, smile." he said.

At this point, with tears trickling down, I just said "You see I lost my father recently and the emotional turmoil is too much. I miss him. He has been my guide all through. I have no one now. I know I should not, but I get angry with myself, with God."

He responded with a smile "Yes, it is hard to lose your father. But, you have to take control of yourself. You should thank to your father for having brought you into this world and guiding you through until now."

"You see, we all come to Earth for a holiday. It is not our permanent home. When we come here, we come with a ticket to tell us when we need to return."

I nodded, he continued, "When my father was getting old, I made sure that I got him things that he loved to eat. If he liked something expensive, I still got it for him. Did you give your father whatever he liked to eat?"

"Yes. I did."

"In that case, you have absolutely no reason to be sad. You have fulfilled your responsibility to your father. You should only feel happy. You have to look forward and not back. You have to accept that he is gone and that his grace is with you always." he said.

He continued, "Is your mother still around?" As I nodded, he said "You should make sure to take care of her. Make sure to get her the foods that she loves."

We had reached the destination. As I stepped out of the taxi, he said "Just one last thing - you must take care of your health. That is key to being happy too. So exercise."

And somewhere all the conflicts I had within were calming down. It is now up to me to practice Being Happy, Accepting the situations and moving forward.