Hap Happ Happy

What drove me to write on this is two things - a post by my journo friend  questioning the way we are living today and a related article that I read on happiness index and how India fares very poor in this , in the 117th place much below small countries like Bhutan.  And I just cant resist sharing the pride that I had when my son's teacher had penned in the report card that he is a happy child -  a remark that I really take more seriously than even the academics. And when we met in one of PTA, she did not forget to mention this too.

 

As a mother of two, I had always been firm that academics will not be on top of my agenda and that I would rather see my child being a sensible thinker and being humane rather than a topper. Now coming back to being happy, happiness is a relative term and can there even be a yardstick to measure it? For me, happiness is measured by the smiles per day, and it helps me also do a quick check if otherwise. A person who cant smile at even stupid weird things, cannot definitely have a life, and trust me it is just not worth it. And this I learnt out of real day experience. all of us will definitely agree and keep voicing that materialistic pleasures are short lived, yet we run our whole life chasing it. Inner peace and coming into terms with your own life however it may be, is definitely crucial. And this does not come easy, it really calls for a very matured state of thinking, accepting things and people as it is, being non judgemental.

 

Looking at the animosity and the kind of frustration, anger that people vent out in the social media, I sometime wonder are we so deprived of good thinking and positivity? So much negativity and venom being spitted out at each other, what are we preparing the new generation for? Sadly, we are leaving behind just a tragic world to live in for them - be it the environment, or the values of life.

 

when small nations like Bhutan gives so much thrust for happiness index, why isn't that we don't even have it in the agenda?

 

Being and staying happy is actually very simple

1. Give: Well it need not be all the time be money. Money is something that all of us keep wanting, and therefore we keep chasing it. Give your knowledge, share your wisdom, see good thoughts in young minds. It definitely will bring a smile and happiness

2. Avoid drama: Oops, there is so much of drama around us - political or otherwise. why add another scene to it?  Paying attention to our own lives, and leaving others to live their own is a simple way to be happy.

3. Appreciate the goodness. there is no point cribbing and whining. there is so much to be thankful for. Being grateful to what we are, and what we have will maximise our happiness.

4. All things are bright and beautiful. Life is a graph, what comes down will go up. It is how we take things and move forward that determines our success.

5. value relationships - personal talk, personal touch and spending time with your close to heart people makes a huge difference. Digital detoxification is something that all of us have to practice and get real.

6. doing things that make us happy. Even small and silly things should not be postponed, small joys and pleasure are inevitable

7. Follow your passion. thankfully we live in the age where failures are not taboos. so it is ok to try and still fail, we can go always back to what we were doing. but the fear of failing is worse than not doing it.

 

No this is not preaching and am no expert. Some of these things are out of my personal experience and therefore am able to say it with lot of conviction. Spread the smile, spread the happiness :)