The happiness road: ‘Learn to count your blessings to be happy’

“Life is an eternal journey of learning, a sadhana . We must learn to enjoy the journey more than getting worked up about the end. That, to me, is happiness,” she says as we sit down one afternoon to have a conversation over some green tea.  

The world sees only a great artist in her, but she’s a very compassionate human being and a doting sister too. Her brother, Arun, is two years younger than she is. He was born normal. But when he was just three, an ailment impaired the development of his brain. When she came to the realisation that Arun will never be normal again, Chitra was grief-stricken. Their mother, Rukmini, helped Chitra cope. “She ensured I didn’t wilt under sorrow. I was, at that time, unsure of what I wanted to do in life. She said to me, ‘You are a brilliant dancer.’ And that got me started. My rigorous training as a dancer helped me come to terms with Arun’s condition and our life,” recalls Chitra. 

Rukmini also taught Chitra something that has remained at the core of all her life’s work. “She told me never to dance for fame or name, but to dance, offering myself to the Universe, offering my dance as a prayer. Doing this prayer consistently is what happiness is all about,” says Chitra. 

How did she cope with her soul-mate R.Visweswaran’s passing in 2007? “Viswesh was my best friend. I surely experienced a great vacuum. But I healed because I simply surrendered through my dance,” shares Chitra, adding, “The key to being happy is to stay anchored, stay detached and to love what you do.” 

What she says next sums up why some of us are unhappy or are still ‘searching’ for happiness. “The key is to realise that until you learn to count your blessings, you will be unhappy. I am happy the way my life is. In the time that I have left here, I want to continue to share of myself and of my art, to the best of my ability.” 

As I take leave of her, I wonder where such wisdom and grace comes from. It perhaps comes from choosing to see life, the way it truly is – as an eternal blessing!

The writer is a life coach, happiness curator and author of Fall Like A Rose Petal. You can reach him through his blog avisviswanathan.wordpress.com