Lesson in Happiness - The LGP Group

A Lesson in Happiness
by Billy Mills

Happiness is something each of us can learn to control, the secret is knowing how...

Because it was late, the two decided to rest. David had learned more than he ever thought he would, and he was exhausted. The Man showed him to his room, and David went to sleep almost immediately. That night, David had a dream:

He found himself in a great desert. White sand, long bleached by the burning rays of the sun, stretched as far as the eye could see. It was to the horizon that David needed to go, but he knew he wouldn’t make it. His tongue was swollen and dry, coated in dust, cracked and bleeding. His arms were swollen from the burns the sun caused, his eyes ached from the brightness of the desert, and his legs wobbled beneath him. He felt dry inside and out. His body told him to stop, to rest, to wait until nightfall to continue his journey. But consciously he knew there would be no nightfall.

He was in the Desert of Loneliness, a place where nightfall never came. It was a place of despair, of sadness. The sun never stopped shining, the winds never at your back, the sand never hardened, and the horizon was never reached. It was a life of living hell, a life where pain became common, and hope for the future was nonexistent. David knew he couldn’t fight the desert any more than he could fight with any other aspect of Mother Earth.

In the end, it would take him as it had taken all others before him. He would die soon, he knew that, and he was afraid, although it was not due to his approaching death. David was frightened by the fact that he didn’t care one way or the other whether he died. Life had as much meaning as death: he had no feelings of hope for the future. Why did he not care if he died? Why didn’t he long for life anymore?

David knew these thoughts were the things that were destroying him, but he couldn’t stop them. That’s why he was frightened. He was out of control; he had given up his life to the feelings of sorrow. David’s knees buckled, and he fell to the sand. He knew he would not get up. There was nothing left to keep him going. He had used all his strength and was ready to die here.

As the sun beat down, the Man in the Hills appeared. He stood over David, his white hair blowing in the wind, and David felt immediately that the Man had come to help him. But as David looked to him, his feelings began to change. The Man’s arms hung loosely at his sides as if he were very tired, his shoulders no longer seemed as broad as they had been in the past, and his face looked weather-beaten and aged. There was nothing extraordinary about the Man anymore—he was simply an old Indian standing on the desert. But why? What had happened to him?

The answer came a few moments later. David came to the realization that he saw sadness in the Man’s eyes—sadness was killing the Man. It was tiring him, making him age with weakness, and would surely kill him within hours. The thought of that made David feel worse. Even the Man could not be happy in this desert. David coughed up some sand that had trickled down his throat. Then he spoke in a raspy tone, “Why have you come?”

“I’ve come because I was needed,” the Man answered.

“You’re here to help me?”

The Man nodded. He did not offer his hand. David coughed again. This time the cough cut the back of his parched throat. “Do you have water? I need water. That’s the only thing that can help me now.”

The Man looked around in confusion. He sighed, then answered after a few moments, “There’s water all around you. Can you not see it?”

“There’s no water,” David wheezed.

“If you can’t see it, you’ll never find it,” the Man answered as he shook his head. He stood over David for a few more seconds, then turned and started to walk away. Because his throat was so dry, David couldn’t say anything. All he could do was raise his head and watch the Man vanish into the hot air of the desert.

David closed his eyes. He had felt the Man’s presence beside him and had been left alone. He had not been helped. Yet, the Man’s appearance had brought him to think of his life and its meaning. Did anything have meaning in his life?

Yes, he knew of one thing. His thoughts turned to his dog. David was only three when Korak was brought home. They grew up together. For years, Korak had watched over him. He led David to safety in times of danger, he helped David find his way when he was lost. Now, Korak was getting older. His back legs were arthritic, and sometimes David needed to help him get up the stairs. His dog needed him now – David had to keep him safe. It was something only David could do because the dog was his and his alone. For just a moment, David smiled. He would give anything just to see his dog one more time.

Suddenly and without warning, the rains came.