Here is the story of a young man’s search for happiness. He had everything that most people can only wish for—educated and well-to-do parents, an IIT degree, tops jobs, freedom, money, friends, travel. But that is not where he found what his heart was looking for.—Editor
“Who doesn’t want to be happy?” These are familiar lines, aren’t they? We all long for happiness. Often, happiness gets translated in terms of money, position, job security, a good spouse, a wonderful family and so on. The norms one puts for one’s happiness depend on individuals, and it varies from person to person. Being a wanderlust person, I have travelled far and wide, both internally and externally. I would like to describe my story as a journey in pursuit of happiness.
My journey began three decades ago. I was privileged to have a wonderful family. I belonged to a family of four—father, mother, a younger sister and me. I was also blessed to savour the love and care of grandparents, both paternal and maternal. My father used to tell me, “Whatever you become and wherever you are, be a good human being; nothing else matters.” My mother often reminded me never to disgrace God. I am proud that I still cling to these golden words. I was a bit shy. My sister, being an outgoing and altruistic person, taught me the importance and depth of interpersonal relationships.
Hailing from a small parish belonging to the Syro-Malankara community, we were regular for Sunday masses. In fact, I longed for it, because those days we had mass only on Sundays because of the lack of priests. My grandparents inculcated a deep Eucharistic devotion in me. I saw them making their confession invariably every Sunday and receiving Holy Communion with utmost devotion. Moreover, they saw to it that I too am on the right track. At the age of eleven, I became an altar boy. No one invited me or trained me, but one day it so happened that there was no one to serve and I took it as a chance and continued to do so.
Three Longings—and a Full Life
Right from my childhood, I have longed for only three things: to serve at the altar (initially as an altar boy), to travel (preferably on a window seat near the driver) and to drive. I had a normal schooling. I won’t dare to say that those were the best days of my life, for the reason that it failed to create a deep impression in me. Needless to say, I am not a fan of our education system. It keeps feeding pupils and fails to empower them. The list of Nobel laureates from India, the second most populous country in the world, will substantiate my claim. I was just part of the normal routine and ritual called education and I could only brag about passing out with flying colours and thus securing my higher studies.
But I was blessed in another way—having wonderful friends. Though only a few, they were remarkable. We were never a gang nor a mob following the wind of our childhood and adolescent days, but we were into ideas and ideologies (my philosophy of life originated there and not in my philosophy classes). It was also a ritual those days to ask about a child’s ambition. I was bombarded with this question quite often, “Hey, Abin, what you want to become?” Anticipated answers were doctor or engineer. But I told them “Hmm, I want to become a driver, a race driver.”
For any Keralite student, class X is crucial. Since you are Catholic, you can always expect a question: “Do want to join the seminary and become a priest?” I too was bombarded with this question. My heart told me that you will do well as a priest, but the gut told me no. I went with my gut, and I still have no regret over that. Later on, I came to know that everyone in my family and parish expected a “Yes” from me. Thereafter, I tailed the trend and joined for science group and eventually ended up studying engineering.
Abraham Abin Thomas SDB
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
