We Must Be Happy

"We Must Be Happy" by Kute Blackson

I will never forget one of my trips to India. A friend of mine Vijay invited me to his house for dinner. I sat on the back of his motorcycle, and I felt like sitting on a two wheels magic mountain roller coaster passing through the winding streets in a burning Bombay Summer. I felt my heart had jumped out of my body.

Then we walked through streets that seemed like an underground maze with full of trash and the most intense smells. And children were playing on the streets.

"This is my house. Welcome," he said, pointing that direction with pride.

"Er, where is it?" I replied.

"Here," as he pointed to the door in front of us.

I walked in and could not believe my eyes. We were sitting in a 8x10 foot small room. In this room, it also lived his wife, two children Mita and Rahul, and his two parents.

I was stunned into silence and humility. Vijay explained that they all lived together in this small room with a small toilet.

Now I was confused, not because of what I perceived as the circumstance, but the whole family seemed so happy. They were offering me biscuits, and soft drinks with their smiling heart.

Here I was sitting in the biggest slum in Asia, where over 2 million people inhabit and make an average of $1-2 dollars per day. It was far away from Los Angeles.

I couldn't hold back any longer. "Are you happy here Vijay?"

Vijay looked at me with a smile and laughed. "We must be, Kute, we must be happy."

In that moment it was clear that I really had no more excuses. Even though he and his family lived in this small little room, they were still happy. It reminded me that the Spirit in us all is bigger than any situation we may be in, any heartbreak we may be experiencing, any type of financial loss or challenging circumstance we might be faced with.

there is a power in us that is limitless and cannot be touched.

Our freedom needs not be determined by external situations - what we have or don't have. True freedom is an inner experience and when we remember this, we will never be bankrupt in the spirit.

Perhaps the real slum is not just a physical place but a state of mind. When we are focused on what's not working, what we don't have, or stuck in fear, in that moment we are living in the slum of our mind. However, when you realize that outer circumstances do not need to determine your inner freedom or happiness, you are truly freed. And that Freedom is real Power.