Saturday, May 23, 2009

Don't worry, be happy

Haven’t we heard it all- pearls of wisdom, secrets to a long life, shortcuts to happiness etc etc. The other day I was listening to a radio show and the RJ was reading out from a list – 30 ways to be happy, or something like that, and what was in that list really made sense. I mean it was not some unachievably nonsensical things like “Think high quality thoughts” or Forgive and forget” or “Achieve inner harmony” etc etc. it was simple achievable things like “Read a comic book” “Look at your old photos” “Watch the sun rise” etc etc. I have my own list. It might not make you happy, but it works for me. You may have heard of them somewhere before, but well I never claimed to be original when it comes to this subject.

Get a good night’s sleep: If I don’t get my seven hours my whole day is spoiled, headaches and dizzy spells and general grouchiness envelops me all day. Get a sound sleep, wake up, take a refreshing bath; it’s one of the best feelings in the world, and you’ll feel ready to take on the most challenging things in the world.


Get in touch with your old friends
: This is one thing you should do. I'm not saying go to every class reunion just because you sat with them in a classroom fifteen years ago, but track down your old buddies, make that phone call, send that email, I guarantee you it’s a nice feeling. Recently an old friend of mine emailed me out of the blue and it felt good being remembered.

Smile and the world smiles back: I'm quite a miser when it comes to smiles. People have asked me many times why I am so serious and so unsmiling; so I tried to be a bit more cheerful and a bit generous with the smiles and to my surprise I didn’t look like an empty headed fool - people actually smiled back.

Do something you love: This is a bit tricky. We’ve all heard the saying “Do something you love (for a living) and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Finding something you truly love is very difficult, especially for someone as vague and oscillating as me. I'm still looking, still trying to figure out what makes me really happy, what kind of work I will never get bored doing for the next forty years.

Clean up: Inside out. Clean your house, clean your room, scrub that bathroom floor, and dust that shelf. Empty your thoughts, your feelings, tell it to someone or to your diary.

Can’t forget? Try forgiving: Don’t hold grudges, it will only fester inside you without the other person ever knowing and in the end it is you who suffer. You don’t have to go and tell the other party how you’ve forgiven him/her and make a spectacle of yourself, forgiving is inside the heart. Once you’ve decided to forgive, that wound which was unhealed automatically gets itself healed, making space in you for more wonderful feelings and emotions.

Laugh: Read a funny book, watch a funny video, laugh at something funny your friend has posted online, talk to someone who makes you laugh. Do it in the morning before you leave for work/college. It will be with you all day and will help you get through a difficult day. This has always worked for me, but the side effect is that you will remember that funny thing at the most inappropriate times, so self control is very much required. But laugh inside.

And last but not the least - go shopping.

9 comments:

  1. Sleep - I need a full 8 hours of deep, uninterrupted zzz otherwise my spine gets rheumatic, my tinnitus ups a notch, you get the drift...

    Keeping in touch with old friends by email isn't as simple for me. Most old friends don't even have one. And some are busy with grandbabies :)

    Smiling's a good idea mahse kuhva heh lai chuan chi vak loh :P

    I love listening to music - but my music system's been in broke mode the last couple of months. But happily, I get a buzz from coming online.

    Cleaning up - ah now that's something no online fanatic has proper time for!

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  2. I've never pictured you as the kuhva-ei-sen type. I inhmehlo. Lo ei tawh teh suh, calendar atan i ha an awt ve palh ang.

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  3. hello :) first of all, i love your layout! it kinda looks like my diary.

    secondly, love the way you write. im just a starter, so i guess ill look up to ur blog every now n then to get myself improved.
    you can stop smiling now..hehe.

    A good laugh always makes my day, and i also often smile to myself thinkin bout the funny thing that had happened earlier, or what might have happened.. and it feels good to be happy

    "dont worry about a thing, coz every little thing's gonna be alright" - Bob marley's "three little birds"

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  4. All good advice, but so hard to follow. Getting a good sleep, for instance, is crucial. Ideally i need 8hrs, but usually end up getting 6 or less (groan)and going groggy through the day. And why on earth is it that life has turned most of us to 'all work and no play' mode?

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  5. Mimi - before I say anything, let me first wipe this smile off my face....

    ... yes I too love this layout, this diary theme. Do you know the name of this template is "Notepad Chaos" - of course you didn't, but now you do.

    Thank you for the lovely compliments, you've just made my day!

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  6. mesjay -Didn't they say that the thing everybody wants to give but nobody wants to take is advice? I agree that life has suddenly turned 'all work and no play' - where did the time go?

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  7. Kan ziak teuh teh ang
    First of all - Why do so many people need help(advice), life is not that complicated. You get up, go to work, eat 3 meals, take 1 good shit and go back to bed - George Carlin (My fav standup comedian, RIP; btw u shud see his shows)
    Sometimes its really simple, as you have rightly jotted down, i mean these are simple things and they do keep u happy (not MAKE)
    U wanna laugh, i recommend the FAIL sites (google fail), slightly crude at times but they really crack me up
    And sleep, yes the magic potion of strength, the elusive fountain of youth....i cant emphasize more on this and sadly how we mengrei generation has disrespect this habit of 8 hours uninterrupted sleeping, opting to take afternoon siestas (vai ho style)....tho my sleep cycle has been messed up of late (sigh wats new doc) give me 8 hours any day (or nite)

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  8. No wonder you are such a happy bubbly cheerful girl. Good points you have mentioned there, but sadly I cannot afford to follow many of them, starting with the first point itself :-(

    So far, I do not worry, but I am also hardly happy...

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  9. OP - va ziak tawi leh si ve! I was expecting at least ten paragraphs :) I think you need more sleep so you can energize yourself a bit more and post lengthy comments. Will check out George Carlin and the FAIL sites when I have more time.

    Kima - I am not at all happy and bubbly, ok maybe a teeny little bit, but I try to be cheerful as much as I can, but again easier said than done.

    Why are you not happy? Not worrying itself is a very good reason to be happy. Come on, lift that spirit, show that teeth!

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