10 Questions on happiness to Quokka

Quokka, a cat-sized kangaroo type animal is considered to be the happiest animal in the world. Here's an imaginary interview to share some insights of happiness.

"Hi Quokka"

(Quokka smiles)

“How did you feel when you came to know that you were the happiest animal in the world?”

“Being happy matters to me, not knowing that I am happy!”

“What do you think is the reason for you to be happy?”

What do I think? Well, the reason is: I don’t think. I don't think about the reasons for being happy. When you’re happy, be happy. Don’t waste time by thinking why you’re happy.

“Don’t you get sad anytime? If yes, what do you do?”

“I do get sad sometimes. Only at that time, I think. I think because of three reasons: one, I can divert myself from the sadness; two, I may get the solution; three, it’s important to pass that time of sadness. Thinking helps passing that time.”

“By the way, don’t you have any name of your own? You are just one quokka among all other quokkas? We humans have individual names.”

“That’s perhaps, one of the reasons for being happy. Luckily, we don’t have names of our own. We don’t commit the same mistakes that humans do. Your name tells to which piece of Earth you belong to, your religion, your language, your gender.. huh! I don’t want to be identified by any of those. We have lived for centuries without names, with absolutely no necessity and no confusions.”

“What’s the problem in being identified by our region, religion, language, gender etc.?”

“Well, you introduced me as the happiest animal in the world. That’s my identity. That’s the identity I have EARNED by myself. Look at yours: when you’re introduced by your name, your fellow-human beings either like you or dislike you because you belong to certain country, certain commun, language and so on. None of those are EARNED by you. You simply got them. You should be liked or disliked by what you have earned by yourself, shouldn’t you?”

“You may not understand as you do not have a home.”

“Well, we have homes. Whatever place we live together is a home, not necessarily surrounded by walls. Yes, we do not have houses like you. And probably that’s one more reason for being happy. We do not restrict our children to four walls. We do not compare the size and facilities of houses and do not build houses beyond our capacity and end up paying EMI throughout half of our lives. And nothing tempts us to cheat or follow any greedy, easy ways to earn money for next ten generations. Strong conscience. No guilt.

Well, have you never felt you need to educate your children to make them civilized?

We always feel and we continuously educate them. We teach them what keeps them happy. We let them learn what keeps them away from snatching others’ happiness. But yes, we never let their education interfere with schooling.

We have never come across any situations for centuries where not knowing (a+b) whole square has made us sad and our lives miserable. We never felt there is a lack of understanding or miscommunication amongst us because we didn’t know the rule in grammar that the plural nouns agree only with plural verbs.

Because of schooling and scientific advancement, we are able to give responsible parenting, build such sophisticated societies and lifestyles.

Do you call learning calculus and never using it in life and teaching rules in grammar and forgetting to teach how to speak wise words as education? Do you call gifting costly smart watches to your children not giving your time to them' as responsible parenting? Do you call 'not feeling happy about what you have that you need and feeling sad for what you don't need but your neighbours have and complicating your life to get them' as sophisticated life style? (Quokka smiles).

Probably you have plenty of time to give time to your children, but you do not have goals, targets and responsibilities towards family and the society, but is that a life without all these?

Well, I live on the same Earth and I have exactly the same amount of time you have. But, when you were arguing with your spouse with your ego clash in an AC room on a feather soft mattress, we – the quokkas were making love under the ceiling of sky. While you were going to your office before your children woke up and returning after they slept for 'so called' their future, we were carrying our babies in our bags and giving them the joy of happing, giving happiness at present. When you were cutting trees with your scientifically advanced sawing tools, we were just eating the nuts and spreading the seeds for trees to multiply.

What’s your advice to be happy?

My two advices are: One, stop giving advice when not asked; stop asking for advices when you cannot take them. Happiness comes itself at your doorstep, you should just welcome it. Sadness and stress do not come themselves; we should go to them and invite. Through your civilizations, education system, lifestyle, religions, marriage system, money – you are going faraway from your home to invite sadness and stress. Try not to give the key of your happiness to others. Even if you have to, give to the deserving people. No animal which is happy has or follows such idiotic complications. Uncomplicate your life.

Quokka, thanks for teaching how to give happiness, how to take happiness.

Don’t complicate again. Happiness is not about giving and taking, it’s about making.