32. Beyond the Smoke: The Only Happiness
In a narrow alley in Kadıköy, at the edge of an old, signless tea house, an elderly man sat quietly. Beyond the puff of tobacco smoke, a smile spills from the corners of his mouth. His expression was not one of excitement from gain, but a mysterious sense of fulfillment, as if he were gently embracing the world itself.
“The only way to be certainly happy is to love people.”―Leo Tolstoy
Turning the Everyday into Gold
We often try to find happiness by being loved by someone or by acquiring something. Yet, the love we seek can sometimes create thirst, and the joy of possession can turn into the fear of loss.
Tolstoy teaches us a happiness that is freer and cannot be stolen by anyone. It is the active warmth of “loving” that wells up from within you. To wish for the happiness of the person before you and simply cherish their existence. With just that tilt of the heart, the world suddenly loses its hostility and transforms into a place that blesses you. Rather than the worries that vanish with the smoke, the tenderness overflowing from your heart right now is what will surely carry you to a place of happiness.
