Theme: Happiness

What happiness is

Once upon a time there was a boy named Bruno who was very curious and kept asking questions.

	Once, he went to talk to his mother, because he wanted to understand what happiness was, since he heard that everyone spends their lives looking
for it.

Observant as he was, Bruno always saw adults doing everything to earn money. So, he asked his mother if happiness was having money.

- No son! It's not like that. Money can bring moments of joy, even relief, when it is used to buy food or medicine, for example, but money can also bring problems. Having money is not the same as having happiness - she said.

Bruno, thoughtful, then remembered Mr. Nicolaus, a very rich man, owner of the best bakery in town, who was always angry, dissatisfied, scolding his employees...

Sr. Nicolaus was already old and ugly. He was not in good health. He took a lot of medication every day.

Bruno, with his cleverness, soon thought: “if Mr. Nicolaus is not happy, then having happiness must be the opposite of what he is”.

- Mom, was Mr. Nicolaus happy when he was young?

- Oh! son, unfortunately, I don't think so - replied the mother. - His family was always one of the richest in the city, but they went through a lot of problems. Furthermore, Mr. Nicolaus never got along with his brother. They fought so much that they barely spoke.

Bruno was very sad to hear this and very worried too because he came to the conclusion that it was really difficult to be happy.

Bruno's mother then explained:

- It´s for sure, son, it is not enough to have money, or power, or youth, or beauty, or health, and not even having all of these together, to guarantee happiness. Do you know why? Because these things are external situations. True happiness is internal, it is a feeling that comes from the heart.

- The situations, the problems, even the facilities too, pass us by - she continued - but each one reacts in a different way. Feelings such as gratitude, love, friendship, a clear conscience, faith in God are the basis for the feeling of happiness.

Bruno paid close attention to his mother's words and to understand better he asked:

- Mom, then, happiness depends more on feelings than on things. Right?

- Yes, son, that's right! - she replied. - As we need material things to live, we have to take care of having at least the necessary, but also take care of having God's values in our hearts.

Bruno understood and smiling more confidently, hugged his mother. It didn't seem to be that difficult anymore. Many people don't know how to achieve happiness, but now he did.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com