How do people enjoy life?

Everyone enjoys life in their own unique way. The way one person enjoys life may not necessarily be the same way another person enjoys life. The important thing is that one should only enjoy that which is rightfully theirs, within limits and in a way that is morally upright. If one enjoys something without getting greedy about it, then one will experience peace and happiness. If you enjoy something that does not belong to you, or it does belong to you but you become greedy about it, it will have a negative reactionary effect on you.

Say for example you have a craving for ice cream and you eat half a tub of ice cream instead of a couple of scoops – what happens? You get a sugar rush, you may not be able to sleep well, and you may even get a headache. So the amount of happiness you would have derived if you had a couple of scoops of ice cream turned out not to give you any happiness and actually had a negative effect on you because you became greedy about it.

In Hindi, there is a saying, ‘Sahaj meela so doodha baraabar,’ whatever is spontaneously obtained is as good as milk. Even if one obtains a glass of water naturally, without any effort, it is as good as milk. ‘Maang leeya so paani,’ and if one asks for a glass of milk, it will give the effect like water. ‘Khinch leeya so rakta baraabar,’ if it is obtained by snatching it away from someone, it is like drinking blood.

So whatever you obtain spontaneously, will naturally bring you happiness and peace. Whatever you obtain by asking for it, will not leave you satisfied and if you try to enjoy something by snatching it away from someone else, it will bring you unhappiness.

Also when we use our mind, body, and speech to help others we can enjoy life. When we help others we give them happiness and in return we also experience happiness and one progresses on the path to eternal happiness.

Whenever one lives in the present, they will not only enjoy life more, but they will also be happy. Living in the present means that one does not reminisce about the past and does not worry about the future, but just lives in the moment.