In Pursuit of Happiness…

Tell me any one random situation which makes you happy?

The little boy next door said, “Watching rain drops dance and walking barefoot on dew covered grass makes me happy” and his 2 year old sister said, “Smelling garden fresh roses makes me happy”.

My neighbour said, “Listening to good music, reading good fiction, watching cricket and movies makes me happy”.

It was my mother’s turn next, “Cooking for family, relatives, friends and visitors and watch the gleam of satisfaction in their eyes as they eat. Then later, treasure the compliments they give me, that makes me so happy.”

In our lives, we are all united in one big chase and it is - the pursuit of happiness.

Happiness is not a permanent state of being, we can’t say that now I have achieved this, I’ll be happy for the rest of my life; we are not primed to feel continuous satisfaction, all we have are happy moments.

Simple joys like watching sunrise, recognizing the smell of first rain, embracing evening breeze, etc leave us with a feel of happiness.

Happiness is also connected to our age. What makes us happy as a teenager might look completely silly at thirty.

For a person who is surrounded by a caring, loving family, happiness goes beyond just planning and achieving goals in life.

Happiness is always within us; it is that inner satisfaction we feel. And helping without expecting a reward gives us true happiness.

To a lot of us, happiness comes in tiny packets, it’s simply the everyday miracle of finding the cell phone, car keys, searching for something since long and suddenly we find it, it definitely gives us a smile.

Things like short commutes, playing with a group of kids, an evening with life-long friends, a book that brings joy - have nothing to do with a fat wallet, all they need is open heartiness.

Whatever you do, make sure that you don’t derive happiness from hurting others. Approach life with a sense of humour and when worries lash, face them boldly.

When you don’t have any regrets in life and have a healthy body and a happy family, happiness is all yours.

Yes, I was Wrong...

“Yes, I was wrong, I admit it was my mistake”, the room turned silent and everyone looked surprised. It was a brave confession indeed.

Aiming to be a perfectionist? No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, it is part of being human; but the question is how many of us have the guts and courage to admit?

How many of us accept our mistakes?

Ego stops us and we start sensing an inferior feeling when accept our mistakes.

We teach the modern day kids about the virtues of being truthful but when we commit mistakes, we are always looking at a scapegoat who can take the fall.

Along with courage, it even takes a lot of integrity to admit to one's mistakes. It is so difficult to practice this.

“There are no mistakes, only lessons”, says my mother.

We justify mistakes for the sake of our ego. Sometimes it is best to say, very simply, “Yes, I made a mistake”, marking an end to an argument.

Accepting the blame, even when you have not done any mistake by resisting the temptation of justifying, for the sake of loved ones is the quality of a wise man.

There are people who deny their mistakes; they even go for counter allegations. But a dignified apology can go a long way to restoring trust.

The most powerful trait of a person is to readily accept his/her shortcomings. Nothing can be more appreciable and so truly respected.

Yeah, the best thing is to stick to the truth. Simply accept what we are and what we did. This way, we can improve a lot.

I accept my mistakes and make sure not to repeat the same again. It is the key for a much better life.

Alarming Alarms...

I woke up, took a glance at the table clock, it showed 4:10am. Thank God, 50 more valuable minutes for the alarm to actually scream into my ears. I went back to sleep with a warm smile.

After a good long sleep, I woke up shocked. The clock shows the same time, 4:10am. The battery is dead. I sprang out of bed in a flash, grabbed my mobile from the table, it was 6:35am and I have to be present at office by 7:00am today.

Every second counted as I rushed like mad and crazy. Shaved, showered, got dressed up and stepped out of my room. After locking the door behind me, turned my back to find the next door guy walking towards me, "Can you lend me your calculator for today? yes, the scientific one", he asked.

"Yaar, you could've asked me a little earlier".

"Five minutes ago, I rang your door bell, there was no response", he said.

"Oh, may be I was in the shower then, I'm in a hurry today, I'm late for office, today we have a meeting, there is a Powerpoint presentation and I have to be present one hour early. I'm sorry but I don't have time to get back into the house. I'll definitely give it in the evening after I'm back home".

His face turned pale, "I need the calculator for solving exercise problems. Tomorrow I'm having my semester exam, what should I do the whole day if you give it in the evening? help me".

I looked at my watch, it showed 6:50am, "Please try to understand my situation buddy, it'll be hard for me to fight through the traffic in just 10 minutes and reach office. I know I'll be late, but I can't handle if it gets too late. You could've asked me yesterday itself. Look, I have no problem lending it to you but I have to go now".

He continued, "I've got a simple one but all I need is the scientific calculator and if you don't give it now, it will ruin my chance to retain top position in my class". It looked like I've taken his calculator and not returning it back.

By the time I'm having this conversation, I could've opened the lock and given him, but the problem was I don't remember where the calculator was and it does take some time to search for it.

"No way, I'm already late". I just ran down the stairs hurriedly, I didn't even bother to hear what he replied back. I knew that such a gesture from me dilutes our friendship, but I had no choice, my boss would shout at me if I delay further.

I reached the parking lot, put my hand in pocket to take out the bike keys. "How the hell can I ever forget my bike keys? This happens to be the first time that I'm so absent minded". God is with him today, I thought and ran back upstairs.

The corridor was empty. I rang his door bell and by the time he opened, I've unlocked my room, I shouted, "Hey dude, cheer up man, come here, I'll give you the calculator, prepare well for your exam. God recommends that you be must be helped right now".

There was a burst of joy in his face, "You came back for my sake? to gimme the calculator?".

"I'm sorry, I came back not for that but in fact I forgot my bike keys and I realize that I can be really so absent minded when in a hurry".

I gave him the scientific calculator, went to office 20 minutes late and I supported myself with two excuses, one was that the alarm clock had a dead battery and the other being the great Indian traffic jams.

Lending the calculator was something that I can smile at, that even absent mindedness can do good at times.

A Wonderful Contest :)

Check out this wonderful contest Silhouette Short Fiction Contest at The Clarity of Night

Here is my story - Entry #160

Destiny's Lonely Child

The autumn evening drifts through the window. I see a lonely bird flying high as the naked branches of leaf-stripped trees are sculpted black against a distant sky.

Birds returned home after all their day’s transactions finally came to an end. Just darkness remains and now sitting with me face to face in my room was loneliness.

“Never have I called out, why are you after me?” was my question.

“You are destiny’s lonely child”, came the reply. “I am here to lead you through the lonely road of life, a road through the wretched deserts with no boundaries.”

“I’ve already left my footprints on the wide city roads, on the narrow side streets and on all highways and alleys. I can find my own way, who are you to lead me?”

“You always believed that you are destined for loneliness and here I am - your destiny. I was born from your belief.”

“So, you are my destiny? Well, my veins seem still and my blood feels ice; I see dry leaves and wings of dead doves. Now tell me am I dead or wandering in the land of the dead?”

“Living a lonely life is a long, grief filled journey progressing from darkness to darkness. You are as good as dead; it’s just that a breathing corpse does not decompose”. He laughed raucously as he spoke those words.

His laughter echoed pain through the empty walls inside my heart.

-xxx-

My dear friend, do share your opinion on my story, your favourite line in it and what changes would make it a much better piece. Thank You :)

You can read more of my writing pieces on loneliness here on my Blog ---> My Flavour of Loneliness

My sincere thanks to Jason Evans for giving me this opportunity to be a part of the wonderful contest.