25 September 2013:
Happiness is man-made.
If you are a Buddhist, you would know that life is about suffering. This is one of the Four Noble Truths, and life experiences have probably painted the same picture of it as well. Life is nothing but easy and smooth-sailing, at least for most, unblessed people.Yet, it probably isn't that hard to be happy. It's about redefining the 'criteria' for happiness; what it takes to make you happy. For some, only the best will do: there must be good grades, good friends, good everything. Naturally most of such people end up glum and unhappy.
Thus, there should be a re-scoping of happiness. Count the little blessings. You had lunch with your classmates (maybe or maybe not friends yet) and all of you had a great time together. You can be happy for it.
It certainly isn't a very fulfilling thing to be happy about. People probably won't remain grinning all day just because of this. Indeed this is not significant, but think about what could possible have happened.
Instead of eating with your classmates, you may have been ostracised by them. No one would eat with you and every day you sit alone in the canteen. That certainly doesn't make one happy. Therefore, you should be happy for eating with them.
Is this line of thought fallacious and impractical? We could end up reducing ourselves into pathetic figures wrapped in misery, yet 'happy' because we think of worse scenarios and be thankful we are not as bad.
However, there is a way out. Being happy doesn't equate to being contented. So while you may be happy with eating with your classmates, you may not be contented. It is here where you improve on this by making friends with some of them.
By applying this rule to various other aspects of life, one is able to continually seek improvement, whilst remaining happy and grateful for the current situation. And, this is a virtuous circle, where you just get happier.
Is it difficult to be happy? No. Promos may be coming up and the workload is indeed killing, but that's no reason to be unhappy (although stress is another matter). As D would say, look out for the #littlevictories. Or, the little happiness abundant in one's life.
Conclusion: find happiness amidst suffering. This doesn't require belief in a god, by the way.
TTFN.
P.S. Cheilitis strikes again. It strikes whenever I am stressed; this is the third time so far. Very thankfully it's mild and I certainly hope it will not be as serious as the last time when my lips turned yellow due to the pus accumulating on the surface.