Let's find some treasure!

I'd like to share a short story my yoga teacher told me once. 

One Sunday night, a man was taking his usual after dinner walk. He came across a woman who was searching for something under a lamp post. He glanced at her and continued to walk his way. After sometime when he returned, he saw that the lady was still frantically looking for something on the ground. So he offered his help to her. He asked the lady, "Excuse me, madam. What are you searching for? Can I help you?" . . The lady was relived to find some help. She said, "I've lost my needle and I just cant seem to find it." . . So the man joined the lady in the search. After sometime, he asked her, "where exactly did you lose it?", the lady says,"Oh I lost it at home!" . . The man now confused asked her why was she looking for it under the lamp post on the street then? and she said, "Because, its dark at home. The lights have gone off and the only light where I can search for it is here!"  

Some of us might have a good laugh at this little episode. We'd reckon, how stupid is the lady to look for something she lost somewhere in a completely different place. Reflect your thoughts on it for a while........ Don't we all do that? 

The story tries to show us that happiness is within us. But when we feel unhappy we try to search for happiness in external things, people, and places.  Just like the lady whose needle was actually at home but she was looking for it somewhere else. These external factors do make us happy, but that is temporary happiness. Things once consumed, make us needy again. If we rely on someone else to make us happy, they can hurt us as well. Places change over time. 

Its important that we learn to be content and seek happiness within us. If the lady continued to search for the needle at home, at some stage she would have found it there. But there was no way she was going to find it under the light of the lamp post even though there was light. 

Happiness has always been a treasure within us which we need to find and....... that makes me a treasure hunter!