Happiness

Yes, another attempt to write about happiness. I will not try to even decipher what makes a person happy. Perhaps happiness is over-rated. May be all we should aim for is simply not be unhappy.

I’ve seen people who seem to have it all looking miserable. And I’ve seen those who are financially underprivileged looking contented. It seems money doesn’t determine one’s level of happiness.

So what exactly makes a person happy?  I have been told that happiness comes from within. It takes a wise man to reach that state of mind.  

Perhaps we should stop searching for happiness and simply live the moment. Enjoy the ups and learn from the downs.  After all, every day is a new experience.

 

Saying no

We teach our kids that to say no when they do not want something. Yet how many of us adults actually do that?

I don’t think it’s a cultural issue although some cultures have a tendency to shy away from saying no more than others. It can be attributed to our learned diplomacy or perhaps our eagerness to be liked. We say yes because we think that is expected of us. We oblige because we want to be nice.

Saying yes all the time eats into our time and energy. Saying yes without meaning it eventually eats into us and we feel resentful. And we wonder why we are not happy?

So for today, learn to say no with a smile. Or say yes because you mean it.

Meaning of life

Read somewhere on the wall of the yoga studio “Living life is the meaning of life”. How true!

Have started contemplating the meaning of life since I was in my teen. With hectic adulthood, this question very often gets shoved aside. Nontheless, there has always been an unsettling urge to find the meaning of my extistance. I choose to believe that God has a purpose for me and every thing happens for a reason.

Perhaps it’s my arrogance. May be life is just as simple as living every moment we are blessed with. I am going to start living this life as it presents itself and not worry about what the big plan is.

How blue is blue?

Was in a lousy mood yesterday. Well, actually haven’t been in great mood for a few days.

Was pretty scared I was spiralling down a dark tunnel as I can’t seem to get my spirit up. Was worried I’m having depression. Thought perhaps it’s PMS (thank goodness for woman, we always have a culprit to blame when we are not in the best mood) but calendar proves otherwise.

So, how blue is blue? At what stage of your depression do you need to reach out for help? Or are you exaggerating the condition which can easily be overcome with yoga class or a chat with a good friend? Problem is I go deep into a cave when I am blue.

Staying blue alone in a cave probably is the worse thing to do. So glad I am out of the cave.

Being and doing

How often are we caught in doing? We feel good when we are busy. We tell ourselves we are productive.

We freak out when we have nothing to keep us busy. Instead of enjoying the ride, we fiddled with our mobile in the car. Instead of enjoying the person we are with, we are busy texting even among company. Instead of listening to the other person on the phone, we multi-tasked and clicked away on our lap top.

We no longer enjoy just being. Even Savasana (dead body pose) at the end of a yoga class is causing agitation as it requires us to be still, to just be.

When we will stop doing and learn to enjoy being?

Til death do us apart

All romantic relationship promises eternal love. Even the most traditional of all relationships, marriage, promises being there for each other in “sickness and in health, til death do us apart”.

But do you seriously think it is possible? To love another person when they are sick. Can you imagine being with another person who is perhaps invalid?

I fell sick over the weekend. Nothing life threatening but bad enough for me to stop all normal activities and stay in bed. I was feeling miserable and certainly not good company. I won’t even love myself then.

So back to the question, can one love another person for life? Or is modern relationship too superficial to accomodate for difficult times?

So til death do us apart?

Wanting more

We’ve been hunting for a new house. Nothing wrong with the current house. In fact, we love our house which sits in a quiet street of a nice neighborhood.

We want a bigger place; a house with more rooms, a bigger garden and preferably a swimming pool. We justify by telling ourselves we need a bigger house. After all the kids are getting bigger and need their own rooms, we need a study room and a small yoga studio would be perfect. And of course, the pool. What better way to spend the weekend than chill in the pool sipping our favorite beverage.

As I reflect over our lifestyles and priorities, I realize I don’t actually want a bigger house. As I let go of my ego, I recognize I don’t even need a bigger house. A bigger house means higher mortgage and that would mean forgoing any plan for early retirement. Higher mortgage and higher expense from maintaining the house mean having to adjust our lifestyle. We may have to cut down on holidays.

I’ve recognized that no amount of material satisfaction will buy us happiness. That does not mean I am ready to give up all worldly pleasures. For one, I enjoy nice hotels when when I travel even though I am equally happy with simply lodging in exotic locations.

It simply means no big house for me for now.

Another day

Cars in the traffic, motorcycles zooming past, people scurrying to their destinations. Another morning, another ordinary day.
How many dreams are being put on hold as we dash out to make our daily living?
Street vendors selling magazines at traffic lights, beggars knocking on car windows asking for small change, passengers in the vehicles engrossed in their gadgets.
We are look dazed.
How can we rekindle our spirit that is being evolved by the storm of daily busyness?

The way

Don’t let fear guide you
As darkness can never show you the way
Let hope lead you
Even when you don’t know the way
With hope and love,
We will find our way

Writers

I love visiting bookstore when I travel to new places. Touching cover of books, flipping through the psges, browsing through the different titles and soaking in the ambiance of the bookstore make me happy. Sometimes I feel like I am improving my intellectual capacity just being in the bookstore.

There are so many books out there that I would love to read even though I have tons of half-finished books waiting for me at home. There are so many writers that inspire me. Whether they are world class writers, writers dead or alive, and even writer who have published only one book, they never fail to impress me.

I have always wanted to write but there are just days when I feel I have nothing interesting to contribute. I am fearful my writing sounds like a rant, that it is not interesting and no one will read. Yet, there are moments I need to put down the rambling thoughts bursting in my mind in words. For me, writing is therapeutic.

I suppose having just one person willing to read what I have written is more than I can ask for. And for that one person, thank you.