What is happiness for a local Pakistani?

It’s been a tough year. People in Pakistan and around the world are worried, upset, and agitated, to say the least. From poverty woes, the disastrous effects of extreme climate change, and now the devastating spread of the deadly Corona Virus, it has been one challenge after the other. Even with the end of the lockdown, while most people are busy trying to get back to their daily routines, many still suffer from feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and demotivation.

Amid these circumstances and in an effort to cut through the most troublesome and depressing news being broadcast on all media platforms, we decided to help people look inward and focus on an aspect of their lives that not only gives them joy but also keeps them going during times of adversity. For this purpose, we asked a simple question – “Khushi Kya Hai?” (What is Happiness?) – on our Facebook page. Soon enough, the post was received with widespread appreciation with numerous responses from people belonging to all walks of life.

https://www.facebook.com/arynewsasia/photos/p.4061843453843255/4061843453843255

Thousands of comments featured people talking about the unique ways in which they have experienced joy and achieved contentment. While many wrote that they will only be happy once the pandemic is over, others put forward the possibility of Pakistan winning a cricket match, that too against arch-rival India, that would make them extremely happy. Numerous others stated that widespread justice, nature, freedom, wealth, success, health, friendship, a supportive life partner, completion of goals, and love are factors that bring them contentment.

Praying to God and being close to Him ranked at number four of things that gave people joy while the second most popular factor happened to be the love of family; specifically, parents and children. The number three position went to self-satisfaction and inner peace.

The number one factor that made people happy, according to the comments we received, was helping others. There were hundreds of comments where users wrote about the joy felt by helping others such as feeding a hungry person or being the reason behind someone’s smile. A few people spoke at length about the devastation caused by the recent rains in Karachi and how, despite so much loss, numerous people were found to be delivering food, giving people shelter, giving them access to necessities such as mobile credit and free fuel and doing everything in their power to help their fellow citizens irrespective of caste, creed, race, religion or status.

This is what Peek Freans’ latest campaign aims to achieve – to encourage the need to express empathy. All of us have the potential to feel for our fellow human beings; we just need the right catalyst to bring it forward. We all carry the mantle of altruism, all we need is a little spark to transform it into flames.

What are your views on the story? Have your say in the comments’ section below.