Harmony does not only mean music. It describes the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole. Across spectrums. Apart form the commonly known harmony in music, we can have harmony in art, in colours, in architecture, in schematics, in spoken words, in the jostling senses of your body. Harmony is balance, symmetry, consonance, coordination, blending, correspondence and compatibility. Harmony is also concord, agreement, peacefulness, amicability, co-operation, understanding and unity. Harmony is a noun that describes an agreement, such as in feeling, sound, look, feel, or smell. It’s necessary for roommates to be able to live in harmony in a small space. Harmony is when one feels happy. Harmony is getting along together. Harmony is being nice others. Harmony is the flow of life.

We tend to feel annoyed when something undesirable happens. In such situations, first, we have to learn to be aware. And to acknowledge how we are feeling. Second, we ask why exactly are we feeling annoyed? Is it really because of what someone said, or is it because they did not say what we wanted them to? Is our anger really due to what someone did, or the false belief that others should do as we want?

A big ‘virus’ that causes us to experience the disease of anger is the lie that others should do as we want them to do. If we did not think this way, would we get angry if others did not act as we wanted them to?

There must be harmony in our thoughts, speech and deeds. What we think, we do not speak. And what we speak, we do not perform. We think and utter words of virtues but do not have that courage to implement them. Harmony is when there is no contradiction in actions.

The truth is that we are all free spirits. We do not control others, nor do they control us. We need to recognize that like musical notes we are all different. Only then we are able to create harmony. And with others, we can create a beautiful tune.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi