Happiness is Helping Others

by Uma Madhavan
(Bangalore, India )

I had to quit my job for the sake of my two children but I felt I had nothing worthwhile to do and I found myself unhappy. One day, I decided to come out of my shell and start meeting people.

That is when I came across many people living alone who had been abandoned by their own relatives. I immediately realized how lucky I was to have a lovely family who supported and cared for me.

That was the day I decided I would dedicate my time to help these people. I started visiting them every day, shared my thoughts with them, and made them feel they had a family member in me. When I gave them the confidence that I was there to care for them, I started seeing the brightness in their eyes.

They got a new zeal to live, and that gave me the world’s greatest happiness. I have become so attached to them that I cannot let one day pass without visiting them. And I found out they feel the same as well. If I don’t go to meet them even one day they tell me they feel depressed. When I see so many people waiting for me, the happiness that comes to me is inexpressible.

It is fine to help people who need money or food but that is passing-by help. Real help is the care we give to abandoned people because it will not only give them moral support but also a reason to live.

That is what I find in the people whom I meet. It makes me happy to feel supportive to this people who are otherwise alone. Now that I am there for them they never feel they are alone.

They feel I am their strength and know they have a helping hand in me. They know I listen when they share with me all of their difficulties. That confidence they keep in me feeds my strength because I know I contribute to their happiness.

In turn I get so much satisfaction and happiness. No longer do I feel that my life is a waste of time. I don’t regret quitting my job because even when I was making money in my job by doing some monotonous tasks, I felt something was missing.

Now, each day offers a different experience, a different kind of pleasure which will never compare to the money I could earn in many jobs throughout my lifetime. And what I do also gives me time to be with my kids. I have the best of both worlds.