By Kohar Bayizian
Why does it seem so hard for some people to find happiness in their lives? With all the beauty that we are witness to every day, why do we have to struggle with such things as stress and depression?
There is a lot that we, as teenagers, are taking on our plate this coming year — college, relationships, peer pressure, etc. — that comes with the territory of being a teen.
With the school year coming to an end, our somewhat hectic day schedules will come to a slow decline. Some will have jobs, some will go away on vacation and some will just relax at their homes. But whatever you do, just remember to find time to enjoy the simple things in life.
I think there is some truth to the theory of “stopping and smelling the roses.” And I had the perfect experience.
There is this man I know, Sunny, and he works in my mother’s building. I went to visit my mother at work one day and on my way I noticed that Sunny was on the other side of the street. I was about to turn my head and continue walking, when one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen happened.
On the other side of the street there were huge, gorgeous bushes of flowers on the corner of an apartment building. Sunny passed by the first bunch, but as he approached the second, he stopped. He just looked at the flowers in utter amazement, as though he had never seen something possess so much beauty.
He slowly leaned down, began to close his eyes and smelled the flowers. And as he did, the corners of this mouth began to peak. It seemed as though happiness had rested upon his face.
I just stood on the other side of the street while the traffic went back and forth and people hurried by me, almost pushing me to the side.
First I felt puzzled, then shocked, but after it hit me I realized that it was one of the most beautiful things I had seen in a long time. For someone to be so content with something so simple left an everlasting impression in my heart.
There is a great lesson to be learned from this. A lesson, unfortunately, not everyone is taught.
It’s that we should be able to find the joy and beauty out of the simple things in life — not just in the cars, the clothes, the jewelry and the other lavish luxuries that most people put on a high pedestal. We should make time to appreciate such things as the sun setting behind apartment buildings, birds chirping on a quiet Sunday morning or the raindrops splashing off a windowsill. If we just look around we can find so much beauty in our lives.
Between running to school and running to work and then running home, I am asking you to once in a while just stop, take a good look around, whether you are in a park, on a city street or in a subway station, and find the beauty that lies all around you; seize it, look at it and really see it, live it.
