There once was a Queen who summoned all of her subjects to her court and said that she would give a huge reward to the one who could bring her happiness.
Her maidens gave her a sweet new born baby to hold in her arms . But alas after holding the baby the Queen became restless and said that was not the answer.
The court jester came and performed brilliantly and everyone including the Queen laughed deliciously. But alas after a short while the Queen became restless again and looked down in sadness.
The court money handler brought in huge baskets of money and lay them before her but somehow it did not make her happy for long.
Her King brought a huge trunk of brilliant jewels and lay them at her feet. She was thrilled and ran her hands through all of the beautiful jewels but soon she became quiet and unhappy.
Gifts from all over the country were bought to the Queen in the hopes that she would find happiness. But alas nothing seemed to work.
Finally, the court called on one of the wisest teachers of the country to come and tell them what to do to solve this problem. He came into the room where the Queen was sitting on her throne and he bowed graciously and then stood boldly before her and lifted his arm and showed her a ball with a smily face that he held in his hand.
He threw the ball to her and she quickly reached out and caught the Happy Ball. " You see, my Queen ", he said "The secret is that no one can make you happy. There is no Fairy Godmother or any magic. All of the wonderful things that they brought to you are good to have but only you can really be the one who can make yourself happy. And more importantly, it is up to you to reach out to find your happiness yourself. Just the way you had to reach out and catch Happy Ball , you have to reach out for your happiness. Only you can make your own happiness. "
The story is simple but true. No amount of money or gifts or being beautiful or having another person in our lives can really make us happy. I have seen a lot of miserable beautiful wealthy people. Happiness has to come from within.
And the Happy Ball reminds us that we have to reach out and find what makes us happy. When we are dealing with a loss or a rejection or a challenging moment, that is the time to reach out and find something that makes us feel better.
And the interesting thing is that not everyone knows what makes them feel better. Here . I am tossing you Happy Ball . Now catch it and tell me something that makes you feel better. Is it running or reading or maybe just hugging your dog?
A child at school does not get asked to play ball with some kids. He can reach out and find another person to play with.
I don't get asked to a party that some of my neighbors are attending. I can reach out and call someone else to join me in a movie .
Life is best when you make the best of whatever happens.
