Happy(?) New Year 2022!

 ‘Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, 'It will be happier.'’
– Alfred Tennyson

Yesterday, on 31st of December 2021, when I sent out this message during my morning text to my friends, an old, unresolved question haunted my mind. What is more important – being happy or being peaceful? As if she had read my thoughts, a dear friend of mine responded with ‘some seek peace more than happiness’. Her reply made me realize that, indeed, more people are seeking peace than happiness.

Seeking happiness is no sin, let me clarify. It’s the very basic trait of humanity to seek pleasure, happiness, bliss, joy, comfort and whatnot. But all these aforementioned emotions are fleeting and require some external stimulus or the other to be felt. In case of peace though, you don’t need an external cause to be at peace. One can be peaceful for no reason at all. (While you may argue that one can be happy for no reason too, I am bound to agree with your argument, but let me remind you, that’s a state of mind for spiritually advanced people, not for the masses.) Peace is the breeze that ever pervades the garden of our minds, while happiness is the fragrance that wafts through that breeze every now and then.

In that case, if I am to wish you well, should I wish you a year of happiness – filled with all those external stimuli that you need to actively seek and find – or should I wish you everlasting peace that requires no external cause? - This question nagged my mind as I sat to write my customary new year wishes. Realizing that, as someone who wants only the best for you, I decided to wish you all a year full of peace!

So, here’s my wish for you:  ‘May you find more peace in your lives, an everlasting serenity that helps you glide unaffected through all the chaos around. May your relationships be harmonious. May your professional lives be devoid of stress and pressure. May you seek peace more than happiness and find it in absolute abundance too!’

After all, as a favorite poet of mine once wrote, “Seek some peace too, gentlemen. For, these needs & wants will never cease to exist.”

Take care, dear all. May this 2022 be one of the most fulfilling and peaceful years of your lives!

A.