Nasir was very unhappy indeed. The reason was simple: he felt good things were missing in his life.

For one, his house was small; he avoided inviting his friends over to chat or play. His dad was a simple clerk — he could not afford to buy him new shoes when there was a special track event at his school. And the problems weren’t all monetary, either. Nasir didn’t have many friends, he didn’t get invited to any parties. As for his appearance, he was short in height and his curly hair never stayed in place, giving him an unkempt look.

One day, he got very tired of being ignored and ‘deprived’. He sat on his bed and cried, and felt very sorry for himself indeed.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” said Nasir sadly.

His father entered, and then looked at him in surprise. “What’s the matter?” he exclaimed. “Are you hurt?”

Nasir looked up at his father. “I just don’t have anything,” he said. “I’m very unsatisfied with my life. Why do other boys have everything they want? How come they’re always so happy?”

Nasir’s father smiled. “Nobody has everything,” he said. “The problem with you is not that you don’t have everything; it is that you think happiness comes from material things.”

Nasir shook his head because he didn’t understand what his father meant.

“Come,” his father said. “Let me show you.”

Together, they went to the main sports stadium in the city. Nasir, who loved sports, almost forget his problems in the bright lights of the crowded stadium.

As both father and son took their seats and the event started, Nasir realised that this was no ordinary game. It was an Olympic event — in fact, it was a Special Olympics event — which meant that every participant was either physically or mentally challenged.

During one race, suddenly, a boy with Down’s syndrome stumbled. As an astonished Nasir and thousands of other viewers watched, two participants stopped and returned to help the fallen boy. All three of them then reached the finish line at the same time. The amazing thing was, the smiles on their faces were brighter than the smiles of any of those who had won the race.

That day, Nasir understood what his father had been trying to tell him all along. There were many things in life that were just handed to you; things you couldn’t do anything about, but happiness wasn’t one of them. The children didn’t have what normal children did, and yet they found a silver lining; somehow, they made the best out of whatever they had. Surely Nasir had more in his life to look forward to than those children had.

Nasir never complained about anything again. He had learnt one of the most important lessons of life — to be happy all you have to do is decide to be happy.

According to the Special Olympics Washington Office, the event described above did actually happen at a 1976 track and field event. The Special Olympics oath is: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. ”