The Pursuit of Happiness

The old man sat on the woody bench in the corner of the City Park. Wait! he did not prefer being called an old man. So a middle aged man he was, but wait! That won’t be true. He was an old man after all.

So an old man sat on the wooden bench all alone with a black bag beside him. He was lost watching a game. His eyes looked at the children, playing hide and seek. The excited seeker running around trying to find the hiders. The hiders silently hidden below the benches and behind the trees. The seeker walked around, as serious as Sherlock, but he couldn’t spot anyone. Soon, too soon the seekers enthusiasm faded.

 ”Emotions among little ones, unlike grown-ups aren’t long lasting”, the old man said to himself extracting a beedi from the packet in his pocket. Perhaps he had seen emotions that had lasted too long. The seeker came close to the old man. He looked sad. As the old man looked into the round brown disappointed eyes of the little seeker he remembered someone from his past. The little seeker looked at him with eyes overflowing with hope. The old man understood. He pointed towards the apple tree in the corner.

And there it was! The smile on the little seeker’s face, the enthusiasm in his round brown eyes was back. Back with a dimpled smile. “How I wish every disappointment in the world was so short-living” said the smiling old man to himself finishing his beedi. Perhaps he had seen disappointment that had lasted too long.

He clapped lightly near Izna’s ear. She woke up instantly. He smiled and her eyes smiled back.”It’s time to go!” he said to Izna. Izna, was her companion since the turmoil and since he had turned old.

He got up from the bench, wore his slippers, picked up his bag and walked off. He exited the park .

He compared life to the game of hide and seeks.  We human beings are the seekers. But unfortunately we seekers don’t even know what we are supposed to seek, let alone where to seek them.

What was he supposed to seek?  His family? Friends? Love? None of them cared about his existence anymore. It had been a long time after all. Then what? What was he supposed to seek? He searched for an answer. The answer hid in the round brown eyes of the excited seeker. Happiness.

What’s life after all? A Pursuit of Happiness!

"Life is not a pursuit of a healthy packaged job. Nor is it a pursuit of a soul-mate. Life is merely a Pursuit of Happiness!"