The Path to Happiness

4th May 2021

So how do we stay positive and happy and resilient in this strange world that we’re living in? Do we switch off the news and go for a walk? Or immerse ourselves in Netflix series and try not to drink too much wine?

There is a line at the end of the poem Desiderata (Max Ehrmann, 1927) which goes: “Be cheerful. Strive to be happy”. The implication, I believe, is that somehow, if we aim to be cheerful as much as possible, then maybe it is easier to strive to be happy.

For me, I tend to take myself outdoors to cheer myself up and get the endorphins flowing. The more time I can spend outdoors, the better, it seems. I am an explorer by heart and have a low threshold for boredom. So, anything I can do that takes me away from the everyday, the mundane, the mediocre and out and about helps. Even if I am exploring the same footpaths every day, I try to observe as much as possible, looking at the leaves, the flowers, the bugs and the birds, noticing the cloud patterns above, or a change in the weather that may be imminent.

One of the things that has made me happiest on my return to Malaysia has been the ability to go walking in the jungle. I get an inordinate amount of pleasure just from putting one foot in front of the other on the course, grainy paths hidden in the jungly domain. Kuala Lumpur is blessed with a number of little ‘islands’ of real secondary jungle just here in the city. These little isolated hills tend to fall on old district boundaries and may have been rubber plantations in the past. Now they are allowed to return to their wild roots and within the wilderness and the chaos, groups of volunteers are actively planting little seedlings of emergent dipterocarps and maintaining paths, fixing seats at the summits for hikers to rest their weary legs.

But the peace and stillness of mind, and perhaps happiness that can be gained by a 2–3-hour hike in this dense green world is immeasurable. With ferns the size of cars and bamboos the size of houses, trails criss-crossing in the cool shade, hundreds of species of plants, endless beatles and ants scurrying along, the shrill chirp of cicadas, the flight of birds, and even macaque monkeys swinging tarzan-like through the tree. This, to me, is the best form of meditation and perhaps the path to happiness!