Happily Satisfied or Satisfactorily Happy

So it seems that I have reached at the top of the pyramid called Maslow's hierarchy of human needs or its an early onset of mid-life crisis. But whatever it is, it has forced me to put my thinking cap on and ponder upon important aspects of self actualization/fulfillment. Lightning struck soon after leaving me wondering, What is more important - Happiness or Satisfaction?

Happiness is a state of mind, a positive emotion which brings a state of well being. As an individual we all indulge in positive sensory experiences do things, look for things that make us happy. Satisfaction is about meeting an expectation, being content with life and being sufficient enough in your own ways. And yes, satisfaction is definitely not an emotion. It may be apt to say that money can't buy you happiness but those who have it, know the satisfaction.

When people say that satisfaction lies in having all the answers to the problem while happiness is having no problems at all, I scratch my head hard thinking about the innumerable possibilities of problems occurring in our grand dramas of life.

It’s worth thinking about standards of a satisfied life and the possibilities for happiness and joy in our lives.

Seeking the Great "Perhaps"

We live..we die, and everything in between is our quest to attain an insight as to why we were here in the first place.


Sitting in my patio under the afternoon sun and looking out at the brown-green grass carpet around me, the simplicity that I see around is in direct contrast to the complexity inside me. And here I mean, the complexity of my mind and heart not in the routine way that they work, but in the psychological way.
We all undertake the arduous journey of life in search of our Great Perhaps, be it going to school/college, getting a job,seeking for our soulmates or towards a goal of sacrificing and giving endless love during parenthood. The only "If" is that - If we were empowered enough to see the endless train of ramifications that result from our smallest hooplas. If only...
The only way out of this labyrinth is to never get hopeless and continue the search. Because..
"Without hope life is meaningless. Without hope life is meaning less and less."

Whenever one sits back and think in retrospect, there would be a zillion moments where just a thought about, "Perhaps", would have changed the course of our lives.

During our times on earth, there would be so many of us who would have to live with things done and things left hanging on any day. Things that could have gone right, some that weren't meant to happen or things that seemed OK initially. But because we cannot foresee future, clinging to that "Perhaps" is all we do at the end of it.

P.S. - "I go to seek a Great Perhaps" were the last words of the poet Francois Rabelais. And these words have been  talked about in the book "Looking for Alaska" by John Green, in great depth.