Giving Joy, Being Happy

Giving Joy, Being Happy


I looked for happiness in Hollyweird
But there, it’s about how you look
about Selling sex, drugs, music and getting hooked
They value the superficial and the cosmetic
If I tell the truth, they call me a fanatic
From the Valley to downtown
Mountains divide White, Black and Brown
But that won’t keep me down
As long as my faith is sound
I stand strong on solid ground
And thankful cause the Creator’s Blessings abound
Hopeful, that war mongers will be found -
Guilty – cause what goes round, comes around

Meanwhile… I slept with my iPhone
But I lost human connectivity, it didn’t make me happy
I got a thousand “friends” on Fakebook
But I was still lonely, living in solitary
I was still hungry for likes, shares, views and followers
But really, none of that made me truly happy

I’m not happy when I’m alienated and villainized
But I’m happy I got good friends on my side
Not happy when wise advice falls on deaf ears
Happy I got eyes to see and the heart to hear

Not happy that we are divided-and-ruled
Happy when Muslims pray together and stop fighting like fools
Not happy when the news propaganda attacks Muslims and Blacks
Happy when tyrants are overthrown and people get their power back

Not happy to see the apartheid system in Saudi Arabia
Happy to see an inter-racial couple in California
Not happy when a weak person is laughed at and mocked
Happy to be tickled by Trevor Noah and Chris Rock

But what is the “pursuit of happiness” anyway?
Imagining, I’ll be happy when I have a million dollars?
When I get a luxury car, when I buy a mansion?
When I’ll be surrounded by beautiful women?
When I get degrees and commendations?
When I become successful and famous?
But chasing all those external things did not make me happy for long

So I have to lower my criteria  for being happy
Cause nobody gave me a guarantee that I’ll live a life of luxury
Or that everything will be easy, easy peasy lemon squeezy

So I have to become low maintenance and easily pleased
I have to appreciate the little things in life
and be easily satisfied
I have to feel contentment and have an attitude of gratitude
Like being happy for what I got
But not happy about injustice
Being happy about God’s plan
But not happy about my character flaws

Life is not about just entertainment and fantasies
It’s about serving a higher purpose and also to have fun
But I can’t expect other people to make me “live happily ever after”
Instead, I have to bring them joy
Inside myself, I have to feel serenity and tranquility
And be grateful for all the positives
Like Being happy to be born in my parent’s home
But not happy about the suffering of other people
Being happy to have found the guidance of good teachers
Not happy about the downfall of the Muslim Ummah

Being happy to play with kids
Not happy their college tuition is too high
Being happy for my sobriety
Not happy to see friends controlled by addiction
Being happy to read psychology and self-help books
Not happy about Muslims wasting time on junk programming on TV
Being happy to live in California, after Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
Not happy that the “American Dream” is dead
Being happy I have a union job
Not happy that the Repuglicans are eliminating the middle class
Happy to be schooled by African American friends
Not happy about slavery and the trauma caused to minorities

Happy to take part in intra-faith activities
Not happy to see sectarian violence in Yemen and Syria
Happy to dialogue with a teacher for mutual learning
Not happy when a preacher lectures me in a monologue
Happy to find people who still have integrity
Not happy to face the corruption of some Muslims and their hypocrisy
Happy to be running on the earth
and not decomposing underground

But what really makes me happy
Is when I feel I’m loved and valued
And when I am able to make a positive difference in the world
And to make someone else happy