Do you own your Happiness?

I know the answer in your mind is," Of course!" What kind of a question is this? Well, most times it is not the case. Would you go to a concert alone? Would you go to a movie alone? Would you go for a game alone? If the answer to these and more is,"Yes" then yes you are the owner of your happiness. I know I am not, since my happiness depends on the happiness of others. My family, my friends all of them collectively define my happiness. 

So if I am alone maybe I am not that happy after all. I don't know what the right state is or should be but I do know this, you should not be dependent on someone else to make you feel happy. That itself is really sad that you cannot make yourself feel happy doing something alone. 

I attended a concert last weekend. I was there with a friend and my husband. There was a single guy sitting besides me. He was silent the entire time before the concert. When I saw him, the first thing that struck me was that,"Oh he is alone, that is so sad." He was listening to the opening bands while we were chatting away, making fun at one another. And then the concert began.  He literally was off his feet the moment the band started playing, enjoying every moment of it. He was screaming, cheering, clapping and I would like to think that he was tearing up a little bit too. Seemed like a big fan of the band.My perspective of that individual changed that moment. I thought,"I wish I could do that!" Follow my happiness and do the things I love no matter if I have company to do it with or not. I used to do it in school where I would go ahead and try different things even if I was not necessarily good at them. But just trying them would give me immense satisfaction and happiness. Now I look for people to do it with. Or just pull my husband along because he does not have much of a choice ;)

My mid year resolution (yes, you can have a mid year resolution:) ) is now to go out there and explore new things that make me happy. If I find new or old friends on the way it is great, but that will not deter me from keep trying :)


Cheers to owning your Happiness!


Leena --<@

2 Minute Noodles

In the old ages. I know I am aging myself by saying this but back in the 90's life used to be so simple. Kids would go to school, come back home, pretend to complete their homework, then run away for playing. Come back home, eat and sleep. Simple. Today's life is so complicated. I agree there are is an App for almost everything you might want to do. But the question I ask is,"Do you really need it?" Where is the effort to learn something? To build something from scratch. To experiment using a new instrument or learning a new sport.

In the age of the i products, all that we are doing is straining our eyes, getting wrist pain and yet not really learning anything on the way.

I listen to a podcast called,"The Moth Podcast". It has a simple concept. Real stories told by people without notes. The stories are funny, inspiring, saddening at times. But it always keeps me coming back for more. At the end of the podcast, the host exits by saying," Have a story worthy week!" Everytime he says that I think back on my week to analyze if I had a story worthy week. Some times I do some times I don't. But I definitely try to make it happen. Obviously these people could not have had these stories if they were huddled on their facebook or twitter accounts. They definitely would not have been speaking if they were in front of their technology products all day long.

The gist is simple. "To keep things Simple." Yes there is a ton of information out there. But how much do you really read and retain or even learn from. If the answer is less than 40% it is time to step away from your gadgets, your facebook and the rest and step out to see what the world has to offer. De clutter your life which will help you think more clearly.

I have so many friends who canbe in front of their laptops for 12 hours at a stretch. But if you ask them at the end of the day what did they learn or what did they get out of the 12 hours, you would rarely get 2 or 3 new things. If that is what you plan to do, there is not much difference between us and the rest of the animal world. We have a brain for a reason. The reason will be fulfilled if you decide and do use your brains. 2 minute noodles are easy to make but not healthy to eat. Think about it :)

Leena --<@