Day23 - Falling in love with clouds all over again

#100HappyDays/ Day23 - Going mad about clouds, flowers and gardening

Happy Moments:

1) I have rediscovered my love for clouds - the shapes, the fluffiness, the grace of their glide across the skies. Cloud gazing used to be a enjoyable hobby but somewhere I lost the habit. Guess life caught up and made those clouds melt into the sky.

I am happy to have rediscovered my love for clouds because there are several fond childhood memories that have come back to gladden my heart.

My favourite author Richard Bach had instilled this love of clouds in my heart. Here is a quote that I am sure you will enjoy reading:

“A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed...It feels an impulsion...this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons.”

In his book "Illusions", the protagonist is a messiah who can control clouds i.e. Make them appear or disappear at will. I used to practice his technique and hope that I would be able to do the same. After some attempts, I settled for trying to recognise different shapes and faces in clouds. :-)

2) Our love for flowers and planting is reaching news heights each day. We are spending most weekends visiting the garden centre to buy pots, plants or bulbs. Yesterday was an exception as we made use of the glorious sunny weather to plant and re-pot a few lovely flowering plants. Photos on fb.

We also saw the full bloom of our water daffodils and it is a sight to behold. We are now making plans for sprucing the garden with a delightful medley fusion of colours and fragrances. One of my eagerly awaited dreams is to see butterflies fluttering around in the garden and birds making their nests to raise their families.

Makes me smile as I wind up this post and settle down for another journey into dream world.

God bless us all.

Have a great Tuesday.

Day22 - Amazing weather changes

#100HappyDays/ Day22

Happy Moments:

1) What a unique weather experience to have! We were out admiring our flowers in the bright sunshine. I had just shot a video which I will call "sun-kissed daffodils".

http://youtu.be/WWgUilA7FSQ

2) We walked back home and just in a few minutes we got a delightful surprise from Mother Nature. The entire winter has been free of any snow or even frost. This morning (Jack Maclachlan, I hope you are reading this blog!) we got a hail storm just out of the blue sky. It was great fun to see the sudden change of weather and we were lucky enough to capture it.

http://youtu.be/TQ7HHyFV3f0

P.S. The reference to Jack was about my comment made to him during his visit yesterday where I used the words "today morning" which is actually "Colloquial English" used by Indians!

3) Within a few minutes, the hail disappeared and we were back to bright sunshine.

http://youtu.be/PLp_tFTtrjQ

4) Just looking back through the last 24 hours, I have seen and recorded bright sunshine, rainfall, hail and even a rainbow! Such is the majesty of Mother Nature that change is instantaneous and so seamless.

5) We had a fun photo shoot at home. Check out the clicks. Poor Urvashi had to do all the running around as we literally had about 10-15 takes before I was satisfied.

6) A trip to Urvashi's brother's house where we gifted them their Buddha statue. They really loved it and that made our day. We are making some wonderful memories to look back upon in the future. The tea made by Bhabhi was wonderful and I really enjoyed the visit immensely. Our youngest nephew Dilan is a budding photographer and he taught me neat tricks of photo taking and editing on iPhone. I feel like a dork for not knowing any of these in-spite of being an iPhone user for a few years now.

7) Came back home to a loving Skype call with mom n dad. My cup of happiness is full.

Lessons learnt:

Reflecting on this, I have been observing how "change" is so difficult for me to accept. It is funny how I will continue to observe or follow my past experiences/ reactions even if I know that there are better options available. The "comfort zone" of the tried and tested route is quite soothingly convenient. It feels comforting even if the route leads to negative outcomes - such is the strange way the brain works in order to avoid change. This despite of the fact that the only path towards improvement or progress is to challenge status quo and change to new ways and means of living!

So I have been trying to challenge myself to change for the better.

Over the past few days, I have willingly and deliberately backed out of arguments which would easily have escalated into full-blown fights in the past. My ego would always goad me into sticking to my guns and using all possible means to win an argument even if it meant fighting with Urvashi and troubling her no end. In the past, I would end up shouting, threatening, giving up meals etc.

Now I have decided that the mind or ego will always lead me onto the wrong track in similar situations, hence I need to use self control to first diffuse the situation and then find an amicable resolution of the misunderstanding or disagreement. Just keeping silent for a few minutes, breathing consciously and accepting/apologising for my own mistakes can help redress most issues immediately.

I love the definition of EGO by Dr Wayne Dyer – “Edging God Out”. When the EGO or the false self is tamed, the real inner pure self emerges. Eliminating EGO is a wonderful goal to have but very difficult to achieve. I have undertaken this challenge because humility is a much better friend and the joy I got from my behaviour was quite a wonderful experience. I am now moving towards a direction in life where I want to remove all sources and traces of negativity from my thoughts, deeds and actions.

It will be a very interesting and learning journey and I am excited too have undertaken the first few steps on the same. Your wishes and support will be much appreciated.

Day 21 - Parts 2 & 3 Daffodils and Parents

#100HappyDays/ Day21 - Part  2

My dear friends Kedar and Jack dropped in for a surprise visit - well Kedar had asked if he could come in to see me, however this was the little plan being hatched. Had a lovely breakfast in the garden with them and a wonderful conversation covering many different topics - most important being tips for a cruise vacation from Jack.

#100HappyDays/ Day21 - Part 3

We learnt an important lesson today. Put plants in sunlight and speak with them - tell them how much joy and love they bring in your life.

Then see the transformation. See them spring to life in a celestial dance of colour and beauty. Our daffodils just bloomed within a few hours. I also repotted a few other plants which were withering a bit - will continue to tend to them and witness their revival.

Love, care and attention is all that is needed to tend to our plants. The same is equally applicable to all our relationships in life - especially with the elderly and the young! Our parents are much like our children - they continue to trust and love us selflessly. They don't expect much back from us. For them, even a few kind words, a few precious minutes of shared time, a touch, a hug is all that is needed to keep them blooming with love and joy.

I now have a daily Skype session with mom n dad. It feels like a déjà vu scene daily. We repeat the same conversations, the same questions and answers on most of the days. Yet, the smiles on their face are magical.... Nothing repeatable about that! I tend to shout at them daily on something that I want them to do or change about their lifestyle or perspective. At times I have been outright rude and impolite in my vain attempts to get them to change (to my definition of being happy!).

My dear parents patiently hear me out and mostly continue to do what they want to do. They do not remonstrate or protest at my indiscretions. Their love for me overcomes the hurt my words or thorns that may be scratching and bleeding their hearts.

So I am slowly changing my approach. The important outcome is a successful end result - everyone needs to feel that they have have been heard, understood and that they have communicated their feelings and expressed their opinions. The means can be either harsh or loving.

I have learnt that in this fragile age, parents need more compassion and latitude, more patience and tolerance. Even their idiosyncrasies need to be tolerated and accepted with love. It is that age of life where they are search for their own answers of life and we must not pile on more questions, ridicule or expectations on them.

On the absolutely ridiculous reason of embarrassment, I had long given up any verbal expression of my deep and soulful love and gratitude towards my parents and to be able to do this again daily on a Skype call is just magic! They have loved me each and every living day of my life and they now know that I love them too and thank god for making them my parents.

So now, each conversation has a lot more smiles, at times we just look at each other on the screen at enjoy moments of silent bliss. We always end our calls on happy terms and even my mom says "I Love You Too!" :-)

We get back manifolds what we give. Sometimes life looks bleak and sad. We try and find reasons outside for the sadness within. We try and exercise our right to blame others, circumstances, situations and the unfairness of life. If we wear dark tinted glasses, the view we get to see will obviously be a dark one! Life is a reflection of what we are expecting, watching out for, fearing.

Instead, we must strive to keep investing our true love, sincere appreciation and diligent positivity. We must keep giving without expecting anything in return. Lord Krishna's eternal message now seems to make more sense each day -

"karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

"Sri Krishna said: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty"

Then see how life starts turning on its head and unfolding the treasures that we all have around but are not aware of! Just like Aladdin trapped in a cave having forgotten the magic words "abra ca dabra"

Day21 - Part1 - Project: Help someone a day

#100HappyDays/ Day21 - Part 1 - Special real project of a dear friend (Vimala Paran)

Project: Help someone a day

Sikkim.....A beautiful ecological hotspot of the lower Himalayan mountains. I am on the way back from Lachung, a picturesque village and was walking by the side of a stream sliding on the pebbles and merrily singing a tune. At a short distance, I saw an old lady carrying a little girl, school bag and lunch bag. I walked briskly and caught up with her. She stopped and smiled.

The cute girl in the school uniform was looking at the bunch of wild flowers I had in my hand without batting her eyelids. I smiled at her and gave the flowers to her. It suddenly occured to me that I could offer to help the old lady. I tried speaking in Hindi, hoping they would understand but in vain. So using the sign language I made gestures asking her where she was going.

She pointed her finger to the top of the hill. I assured the old lady that I will carry her little granddaughter up the hill.I squatted down and let the little kid jump on to my back and then climbed (as though carrying a backpack)up the hill.The old lady's face lit up with a smile - priceless one. The kid was giggling all the way up - talking incessantly in (no idea what language she was speaking - I later found out it could be one of these.....Nepali,Bhutia, Lepcha, Tamang, Limbu, Newari, Rai, Gurung, Magar,Sunwar). I was merrily nodding my head and tried to be a good listener.

I dropped her off near the house and turned back to look at the teary-eyed old lady with hands folded in a namaste. I touched her hands and said it was ok and that I was glad to help. She would carry the kid everyday but that day was different. She was able to give some rest to her back as a stranger(me) carried her little girl up the hill. Even to this day I remember her tear filled eyes.

In those few moments, I had made a difference to her day in a small way. And that mattered. It was a simple helpful gesture from my end. I gave a slice of my time to the old lady and the little girl (neither the unknownlanguage nor unknown identities became a barrier) and it filled their few moments with joy. Walking downhill I thought about it, turned back and waved at them, thus capturing the smiles on their faces in my eyes forever.

A few words by Einstein that I ponder about on a daily basis are -"Only a life lived for others is worth living". These words make so much sense. It had given me happiness to be of some small help. From then on I decided I should help someone (who I would never meet again...or the probability of it would be almost zero).

Now, after so many years, it has become part of my life. An element of daily life as important as any other thing (In wouldn't call it a task...). There would be no dearth of opportunities to help, if only you have a positive attitude, willingness to help and have faith in humanity.

Helping someone without having expectations of them helping you back is the best thought you could have while helping. You never know when someone needs your help. A few kind words, a helping hand, a smile that says -"Don't worry, everything will be ok" a little gesture to rekindle hope in whatever situation, certain warmth when it is gloomy around.....the list is endless. Try helping someone TODAY, I am sure you will not regret.

Think of it this way : - Lot of people stick around when someone is happy, their life is a rosy picture and all is well but 'YOU' are needed when there is no one around and they are helpless.(That is when they are gripped by fear....)

So, you are privileged to be of help to someone in need at that moment. (You bring in faith...with your humane nature and you turn the situation in to "All is well"). Do not lose that moment or the opportunity to be of help and serve others. Have faith in humanity. We all are part of this Mother Earth.

There is a universal peace prayer in Sanskrit -

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः।
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु।
मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत्॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Translation:

May all be prosperous and happy
May all be free from illness
May all see what is spiritually uplifting
May no one suffer
Om peace, peace, peace

Please wish for happiness of everyone. Helping others and being selfless in serving those who deserve, are in need is more than a penance. Make it a habit and you will never want to quit that habit. As with all projects, there should be an end to this project. right? END DATE: My last day on this planet :-)

I wrote about this project after my mentor told me I should write about it and let others know. I would like to dedicate this piece of writing with gratitude to a girl(name: Unknown) who helped me push my trolley bags to the bus station on time in London. "I was just in time to board the bus to Norwich from London. I was walking towards the bus station and struggling with my bags, helpless, filled with fear that I might miss the bus and with thoughts that I might not be able to reach home that night. Thanks for the help by a stranger." (Excerpt from my diary dated - 20 September 2007)

May you all experience the pleasure and immense happiness of helping others in this project. Lets make this planet a better place to live in.

Vimala Paran

P.S. I never thought I would share about this....but you made me write about. I feel good that I m making a small contribution everyday and deriving happiness in those few moments.

Holding the door open for someone, wishing a good day for the toll booth person, help push the shopping cart for a single mom, stop to help someone find their way around the suburbs, assist the librarian stack the books, fix someone's laptop issue, tie shoe laces of a kid at a store, be a Spanish interpreter for a foreigner struggling to talk in English in US, letting someone in a hurry  get ahead in the line ......few simple things ....but definitely brings smiles.

Vimala Paran

Day20 - An amazing day blessed by Buddha

#100HappyDays/ Day20

Such a funtastic day and sooo much to share. Have already put up a couple of snaps and also have a couple of videos to show.

Let's begin the fun journey together.

Special events:

1) A meditation teacher came today morning and conducted an introduction session for me and Urvashi. We enjoyed her wonderful and soulful discourse. She will be visiting again next week to conduct class 2. Thanks to Sadhana Bhabhi for helping set this up for us.

2) Our dear friends Azeem and Yasmin arranged for a special healing session for me at their weekly religious gathering and I also received a set of affirmations to practice daily. Sincerely appreciate such a lovely effort. God bless all of them.

Happy Moments -

1) So we went to pick up some wooden barrels for Urvashi to work her magic and create some more colour and flower showpieces for our home.

While browsing the garden, we came across these lovely buddha statues and our hearts just fell in love with them. We have been thinking of giving gifts to our dear family for all the love and support that they have given to us throughout the last few months and this came up as the perfect idea.

2) We also got one for ourselves because we loved it so much.

3) My dad finally back on Facebook and able to read my blog and see all other updates. Credit goes to my brother for helping set this up. Dad always encourages me and reads my blogs very carefully. I believe he also enjoys some of them.... This makes me so happy.

4) A wonderful FaceTime chat with Anita Luthra (Didi) who is my guardian angel and also the one who introduced and encouraged me to take up this happiness challenge. We have started discussing about the "Goodness Bandwagon" initiative and she is sharing her great ideas and recommendations. Getting really excited about it. Thanks to all of you who have expressed your willingness to participate through your comments. Will be reaching out soon to detail next steps.

5) Urvashi being such a wonderful sweetheart and agreeing to make a video for sharing our happy moment foe the day. She is so brilliant and natural - just love her smile as she is coming to catch me for final comments in the video

http://youtu.be/SQOamHTQJyc

6) Director's cut version, which Urvashi had no clue about :-) ... Explains why she found me getting back into bed while she was coming to get my final comments.

http://youtu.be/TcnfguFJllU

P.S. She did kind of suspect it but I diverted her attention to a different topic :-)

7) in spite of her tiredness, my dearest wife agrees for an exclusive photo shoot with our new Buddha to share with all of you. She also takes multiple shots with the SLR to get the right snaps.

8) Last but most importantly, the passport application of my elder sister and niece. I can now go to sleep while dreaming of the day they come to london to meet up with us.

Hip hip hooray....

God bless

Love

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

Sleepy now... Good night and looking forward to the india - Pakistan cricket match tomorrow.

Day19 - The Goodness journey begins

#100HappyDays/ Day19

Hope you all had a fun day. I had a good happy day made up of another set of
unique personal experiences to share with all my dear ones today. Along with that, I am taking the first step towards a long intended initiative which I will describe below. Finally, to complete the set, I will begin with an observation and invite your views, opinions and guidance on the same. All of these form my oddball #100HappyDays /Day18 challenge update.

1) Happy experiences:

- Thoroughly enjoyed watering the front garden in the warm sunny weather. What makes it satisfying is the instant reaction of the plants. By tomorrow morning, there will be a new set of flowers swirling around in the wind and bringing beauty, colours and joy

- Learnt a new set of exercises at the physio session and feeling quite good at the prospect of practicing them and improving my strength and coordination

- Manchester United winning the European Champions League clash against Olympiakos to reach the last 8 stage of the competition. I have fond memories of my trip to Old Trafford to watch a match between the same two teams which ManU won 4-0 at a canter. That was a different team though - real champions under the best manager in the world

2) The Goodness Bandwagon:

This refers to my long planned dream about starting a sustainable and ever-growing chain of initiatives at helping the underprivileged and deserving masses. We have been very lucky to have had all the privileges of strong family, financial and social foundations to make our lives quite comfortable and fun. A major percentage of the world population does not enjoy the same privileges and hence we share an obligation to do our bit and make a difference in their lives.

We all contribute our bit in terms of donating to charities, helping the poor in various ways. However our efforts are mostly individualistic and disjointed. The impact of organised initiatives I.e. NGO type initiatives will always be better than our own individual attempts. We also tend to run short of ideas or genuine areas where our contribution can make a meaningful difference.

I have been mulling over this thought of integrating as many known and validated opportunities for individuals and groups to pick and choose from. With help of my dear family and friends, we have implemented a few of these ideas successfully and also put together plans to implement a few more.

I believe that my thinking process is now nearing the "Tipping Point" and it is time to take implement the next step change - create a platform for bringing together genuine opportunities to help make a difference. This would be a confluence of NGOs, senior citizens (who are spending a lot of their time and effort on bringing about social change), professionals keen to invest their skills, efforts and project management bandwidth and finally our network of dear ones who are committed to social service. The word "sustainability" sticks out as an important criteria as I take my first step.

Pls watch this space for further details.

3) The good news conundrum:

We face a strange challenge in our daily lives....

Very conservatively, over 95% of the world population would be made up of honest, straight thinking, simple, peace loving folks.

Our means of communication, information and knowledge sharing are quite restricted to the media networks and then of course the social networks. Unfortunately, most of the information updates are focused on negative events or activities happening in the world around us. The major focus of the "News" that we come across seems to be based on criminal, tragic or negative updates.

So I thank my dear sis Anita Luthra for sharing this website which actually does the opposite - shares good news and positive updates.

http://www.thebetterindia.com/

Check it out. The type of information that we have to assimilate or accumulate can make a big difference to the quality of our life. Why not focus on goodness and use it to create more goodness?

Think about it.

God bless
Love

Day18 - Expanding dimensions of happiness

This is a unique blog and one that just popped up in my mind while I was wondering  about my happy moment occasion for the day. The reason it is unique is because the moment hasn't yet happened but it has been planned and true to recent trends, it is again a lot if different and unpredictable turn of events coming together in a brilliant and mysterious manner to make something special happen.

Before describing the special to-be happiness event (rather forecasting it), I want to begin at the opposite end of the spectrum in order to create a clear perspective. Why is our life so stressful nowadays? Why do we find that we are always running behind time and can never get any space to relax or have fun?

Do we just load our life wagons with all the to-do lists, thankless tasks, expectations, stresses, impossible demands, time mis-management, procrastination and delaying happiness for ourselves and our dear ones for a never happening future lifetime. Are our tempers shorter than they should be? Most importantly, where is the resolution to these problems - Within our own selves or in the world outside?

If you are really still reading this blog, pls close your eyes for a minute and apply these situations in your own life situations. Really... Pls do this... Recollect recent past, present, future or imagination instances which have brought a smile on the face and a glow in your heart. Is it really that difficult to be happy if we put our heart and soul on making our lives and also the lives of our dear ones better - filled with love, peace, joy, contentment and compassion. What if we were to create that small nook in our heart with a sign-board "my daily personal rejuvenation centre"?

In real life, happiness is a feeling that can be experienced at any point in time and for a reason, incident, event or memory that may have happened in the last, is happening or is planned for the future. In fact, it doesn't even need to be planned, it could just be a memory or a even a wish, blessing or prayer (receiving or giving).

Pls do think about this and introspect whenever you get a chance. "If I continue to blame external factors (work, family, disagreements etc.) for my state of life or mind, how can I ever take responsibility of anything or anyone else?"


Happiness Event:

So for the first time in this challenge I am actually describing the happiness before the event occurs ... We can call it fortune telling, predicting the future or just a visualisation. I have been wondering as to how and why should happiness be described only on the same day - that sounds purely like an artificial limitation of my communication ability.

SITUATION:

Let's get down to it then. Our dear friend Pooja has been suffering from a bad bad tooth problem which has caused her considerable pain for almost two weeks now. On top of this, she has to manage two of the cutest but also the naughtiest kids in the world.

She celebrates her birthday tomorrow and we had been planning to have a dinner with them just to give her a break.

The SURPRISE Plan:

Now our friendly magician - our very own dear Urvashi created today's magic by making the following happen:

1) Convincing them to come over to our house for dinner tonight
2) Planning a surprise birthday party
3) Executing the plan to perfection by inviting our other friends, arranging a cake pick-up, organising a delicious dinner...all of this on a busy and tiring day for us when we had to go to the city for a routine doc appointment

HOW IT ALL TURNED OUT:

1) So our unsuspecting guests turned up for a normal dinner. Our conversations covered a lot of areas... Kids were busy having fun as they always do. Check snaps...

2) dinner was fun...lot of good food, enjoyed by everyone.

3) We were preparing tea when our other friends arrived and it still seemed like a routine evening. Urvashi and Appu secretly setup the cake full with lit candles and that is when the party sprang to life. Check the video for the wonderful happy moment of the day. What makes it special was that it made many people happy.

http://youtu.be/y2-brM7AapI

Pooja was really surprised and so was Harish. All of this planned, plotted and executed by our innocent little darling Urvashi. The evening went exactly as she had visualised it... Down to the last pixel.

Check more photos on Facebook.

Life is so much fun and joy when we can make such sweet surprises for our dear ones and let them know how much épée love them and appreciate their presence in our lives. Just a little bit of planning and lots of love... Makes it a special happy day!

Here's wishing dearest Pooja a very Happy birthday and many wonderful returns of the day. God bless you with true and everlasting love, joy, peace, good health and success.

Day 17 - The dazzle of Holi

#100HappyDays/ Day17

The universe is not just working hard at making all our wishes and dreams come true. In its true elements, the universe actually adds a panache, a chutzpah... A dash of spice and then some colours....I actually wonder if the universe actually has any other business than to make my life happy!!! But I dare not tempt fate and so I am just grateful for the wonders that I get to experience and delight in each day.

And so it had to be today when it was ordained that happiness was presented in the form of a dazzling and absolutely unexpected surprise... And to make it memorable, it was multiplied ... For good effect.

It all started as another ordinary British early spring day. The sun was playing hide and seek amongst beautiful clouds littered across the sky. It was trying to make up it's mind as to whether it would play truant or actually would grant us another bright and glorious shiny day. I think the day was passed in making up it's mind because we hit a mix and match of both options.

For me, it was an early start of my daily routine ... A full compliment of exercises, pranayama, meditation (practicing and learning in baby steps), breakfast and reading. Urvi n my cousin (Rajni) are the enforcers of my routine on a daily basis and there is no escaping the determination of these committed sweethearts.

I then felt a bit tired and took a nap which helped get my energy levels back up. So my day actually started in the afternoon with a phone call to my dear sister (Sarita). We get to speak quite infrequently and hence became my happy moment of the day.

But then, it continued to get better. After multiple attempts, managed to get my parents on Skype and had a loving conversation with them (happy moment 2).

I thought that I was having a lucky day and so called my elder brother and Sister-in-law. The loving conversation brought "glad tidings" and a thanks to god for blessing me with so much affection and love. I sincerely recommend the book "Autobiography of a Yogi" to all of you to read - earnest request to make time and read the book which is available as a free download as well as in hard copy.

(happy moment 3)

A long awaited and planned coffee house visit with our darling niece Falguni materialised out of the blue and I now knew that today was no ordinary day.

We bumped into Urvi's cousin Kinner and had another lovely conversation about Disneyland theme parks and the art and pleasure of enjoying the rides of the various theme parks. Brought back precious memories of my own magical trip to Orlando in the summer of '97 in my first trip to the USA. (happy moment 4)

Our bonding session with Falguni continued. We had a wonderful interview session and you can see the highlight of it here

http://youtu.be/o2fMZFlV2K8

(happy moment 5)

My dear friend Gaurav called up and wanted to see us for a few minutes. We agreed to go over to his Sister-in-law's place to meet up with them all. We said our good-bye to Falu and went to Nitin's house to meet his parents whom he has brought to the UK for the first time.

Here is where the grand planning of the universe actually came to the fore.

(happy moment 6)

http://youtu.be/_0s4E7gXeAg

In our wildest imagination, we couldn't have dreamt of being able to celebrate Holi with colours and yet it was all made to happen just for us today. Some angels out there are truly wanting us to fill in our coffers with love, joy, blessings and mischief.

Doing it with colours and the company of such wonderful family and friends made it all the more amazing. The pics will tell you the story.

Happiness is said to be a choice but for me today all the choices had been made for me and it was like a free ticket into Disneyland...no queues... No crowds... Unlimited rides... Surprise rides included....just go out and have fun. Celebrate life... Believe in magic...and keep counting the happy moments.

Time to hug my soulmate and begin another fantasy journey into dream world... Do remind me to tell you of my childhood occupation in another blog post some day.

Thank you God and all your angels.

Love and Light.

Day15 - The momentum bank

Today was a really bright and sunny day. Started breezy and early, went through the morning routines smoothly and got into a good shape to have a fun and happening day.

The good thing about getting into a rhythm of writing daily is that it tends to sharpen  the mind. Ideas and thoughts start appearing at various odd moments... Mostly coming together in bunches. 

So I got a couple of brainwaves today which I am excited to consider for implementing. One of them is to start a new blog on my amateurish attempts to experience, discover and learn meditation. The other is to use this 100 HappyDays challenge to create a lexicon of words that can be associated with happy emotions. Call these synonyms, metaphors or simply symbols.... The intention is to create a multi-dimensional model with an array of options for anyone to choose from or add to while trying to experience happiness.

As they say in Hindi - "nek kaam mein deri nahi honi chahiye" viz. there need not be any delay in implementing a good deed or action. My first synonym is.........is a word called "momentum" which refers to the tendency of a phenomena to persist even when the original energy has stopped. In terms of sport, it refers to a psychological advantage gained by an individual or a team which allows a sustainable self-belief or robs the opponent of the same.

The 100 HappyDays challenge that I am currently making slow but steady progress on is all about building a bank of positive energy one day at a time. The whole idea is that energy cycles are called so because they can ebb and flow depending on many factors. 

My focus is not on finding mundane of artificial reasons or excuses to prove that I have experienced happiness. My endeavour is to build a crescendo of positivity which will sweep aside those niggling days when doubts creep up or when it may seem that the circumstances are just too unfair. I choose to call this a "momentum banking drive" over a 100 day period which actually won't stop there. This enthusiasm and experience will continue to grow and serve me well forever. 

But it is just not for me to control or benefit from this banks .... Why not spread happiness and joy all around the world and make it more joyful? It is my firm belief that happiness grows multi folds when shared with others. Even the great Buddha believes in this idea when he gives us this wonderful quote - 

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened ~ Happiness never decreases by being shared". 

So pls join me in my mission and do take every possible benefit from the "Happiness Bank"

Love

God bless

Day 14 - conversation with a tree

#100Happydays/ Day14

We were out driving in the evening and on a whim I asked Urvi to turn into a narrow alley. We didn't need to be there but just happened to be around and looking back now it was no accident - we were actually drawn there by destiny. We were called there to experience a magical sight and couldn't have missed it had we put in our best efforts.

http://youtu.be/Y2rwiRA118I

Majestic Tree - need anything more be said to describe the sheer breathtaking splendour of this spectacle of nature? The azure sky backdrop only made the visual delight that much more magnificent and awe-inspiring.

Life has a way of giving signs ... The Universe seems to have caught on to my #100Happydays challenge and is now busy lining up special experiences and moments in front of me. But that is not all, these external sign-posts were always there, mute spectators and yet ever present and just waiting to be looked at, to be marvelled at, to be acknowledged and to be respected for their sheer beauty and brilliance.

The video did not do justice the the sight that lay ahead of me. But my soul was moved by the sight. I could feel a direct connection with the gentle colossal giant and it appeared to be swaying in a smile of acknowledgement to that connection.

What started off as a sight for the eyes to behold had now converted into a much deeper introspection experience. The centuries that this lovely spirit has been rooted at the spot has witnessed the most significant change in the history of our world.

How this monarch must have witnessed and observed the world move from one scientific discovery/invention to another. How much knowledge must be stored in its vast roots about the changes in the environment, political, social, economic and other systems, attitudes and perspectives through the passage of time. I was rooted  for a few minutes feeling a direct connection to the very spirit of the tree - as if we were in direct conversation and it was wanting to share its emotions and experiences with me.

If this is what meditation feels like, then I must practice harder. I must still the mind further and look within to explore and learn more about the inner self and about connections with nature and the universe. Just one experience has opened up a new dimension of life waiting to be explored, to be experienced and to be learnt from.

The tree silently remonstrated with me for living life in a crazy stupor - without direction, purpose or any aim. It showed me how much out of sync I have been while pursuing facile and futile materialistic ambitions all my life but ignoring or procrastinating from the real journey that I am meant to undertake - the exploration within. It gently chided me for forgetting my true roots and getting caught up with the "rat race" of external desires. It told me how it was just a floating seed at the very beginning and how it had to work hard to take birth, survive and become what it is today.

The final message was the most telling .... "You can be float through life without a foundation, crashing from one obstacle to another, reacting to each situation as it occurs..... Or you can dig deep within yourself, grow your roots within the fertile ground of your soul...still your mind and soar into the sky like a majestic tree....discover your inner divinity and spread the beauty of leaves, branches, flowers, fruits, seeds and soothing shade with the rest of the universe."

The choice my dear friends lies with each one of us.

Day 13 - Lessons of life from mother nature

#100Happydays/ Day 13

Mother Nature - ever loving, ever giving, ever caring. All she needs is space in different dimensions I.e. Physical, time and breathing space! Give her the tiniest opportunity to exist and she not just survives but also thrives. Her struggle is never ever for her own survival.... For she strives to maintain harmony and sustain the planet and life as we know it.

The history of our planet has been shaped be several occasions of violent and disruptive forces being unleashed with brutal power. The evolution of life itself is a unique phenomenon which occurred as a culmination of multiple improbable situations converging simultaneously in a bizarre coincidence. We are yet wondering if we are joined by any other form of living beings anywhere else in the endless universe.

So here we are - over 6 billion human souls accompanied by trillions of other life forms of all shapes, sizes and forms, occupying a planet in the solar system within a Milky Way somewhere on the edge of a galaxy within the universe. It's a freak miracle that we even exist.

Mother Nature works her wonders and her tricks to keep this miracle going. Today, as I was soaking in some much needed natural vitamin D - i.e. Sitting near the pond under the bright spring sun, I had much to thanks god for. The beautiful fish in the pond were playfully smiling at me and their eyes were sparkling with the recognition of a nameless, formless bond of love.

His blessings arrive daily ... In fact each living moment of my life. I am grateful for all the love and affection he has blessed me with in the form of my dearest family and wonderful friends. I am truly fortunate to have such loving parents, the company of my soulmate and selfless love of the entire wider family and friends of my life.

God, in the form of all these guardian angels watches over me with gentle care and guides me along the right path of life. He brings joy, peace, opportunities, challenges in the form of choices and lets me decide what I want to do each moment of my life.

He is the loving father who has given his chosen child the freedom to go and explore life... Play, enjoy, learn and experience the wonderful world. His love and care always protects each and everyone of us. All he wants from me is to make good my true inner potential and to follow the path of dharma.

In essence the soul within each one of us is indestructible and cannot be harmed in any way. Everything else that happens to us is only part of this temporary physical existence that we call our life. Once we realise this fact and accept the reality, we can focus on the main purpose of our birth - I.e. To realise our true self and accomplish the following -

“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it”
― Gautama Buddha

Day -12 - Sharing a special occasion with the Seshadri Family

#100Happydays/ Day 12

God finds different ways of showing his magic each day and he shares his love, care and affection in such unique and beautiful manners,

A special family visit lead to another magical occasion. The Seshadri family was with us for the evening and we were all enjoying a wonderful conversation. We had been waiting for this meeting for a very long time - ever since Aunty had started praying for my health and well being even without having ever known me. Her faith and blessings have carried me through my tough times. As I was telling them - parents are actually the form of god in our lives.

Uncle was sharing his profound knowledge of yoga and meditation. He is a treasure trove of knowledge and positivity. Aunty is the epitome of motherly love and godliness.

We were discussing about how we have shared special occasions in the past - when Kiran and Seema first came to the UK, we had assisted them in their initial settling period which they fondly remember.

We then got the delightful news of the birth of Seema's niece in Bangalore. This wonderful news of the first born angel in Seema's brother's family arrived at our place and the joy on their faces was just amazing. This joyful news of arrival brightened our day and is the happy news of the day.

Luckily we were able to capture this beautiful moment and are privileged to share this with all of you. Kindly bless the new-born and her joyful family with a happy and loving future ahead. May the angel grow up to make thus world a better place and make us all proud.

We are delighted to be able to share this wonderful occasion in real time with the Seshadri family and are happy to involve you all in this magical experience.

God bless.
Love and light

A bittersweet joy - day 11

#100Happydays/ Day 11

Sometimes happiness is a complex experience. It starts off with sadness about something massively wrong with our society and a feeling of utter frustration as to why humanity disappears when it is most needed. Then comes along a lone clenched fist to take a stand against the injustice and to throw down a gauntlet.

Today I am so proud that my dear colleague and friend Sucheta Pal is the determined crusader to raise her fist and voice against one ugly and inexcusable habit or behaviour in our society - "Eve teasing" or "molesting".

Far too long have the oppressors enjoyed complete freedom and impunity to continue teasing and tormenting the silent suffering female sex - without any care or shame, without any consideration of the physical, mental or psychological scars that these dastardly actions cause on the unsuspecting and innocent victims.

Yet the same inhuman individual will happily join a mob if someone else is caught red-handed in order the beat the offender ruthlessly - sometimes to death. Sometimes the insensitivity and craziness of attitude beggars belief and shows the real dark problems in our social fabric. It is the two-faced side of individuals or even the society which is inexplicable and hence reprehensible.

We somehow have created a social structure which condones or lets such crimes go unpunished by turning a blind eye and avoiding confrontation. With no avenue of self defence or support from the mute and dumb crowds watching the evil acts silently, the victim continues to suffer in silence, while the perpetrator gets bolder and prepares for bigger conquests.

Interestingly, the same criminal while walking out with his family members is very protective and aggressive towards anyone else even casting a glance on them. It all changes in a minute when the shoe is on the other foot. It is no longer just staring... Whistling, lewd comments and various forms of disgusting physical abuses are all at the disposal of the perpetrator who feels his male ego stoked to be able to conduct his evil act.

So how far do we let this senseless mayhem carry on occurring in front of our eyes and keep mute and powerless to act or react? How much longer can we only worry about our own sisters and expect them to be safe in this evil environment? How long do we expect our sisters to continue to respect and pray for us if we are not willing to protect them and their dear friends?

Sucheta and many of her blessed friends are now taking a stand and refusing to let things just remain as they are. They are not accepting meek surrender to this evil multi-headed hydra. There may not be a single solution to address this cancer of our society but they are going to start the fight nevertheless.

Our daughters, sisters and friends are on the brink of a new approach leading to a better social order. It is like a small pulse of pressure or a single block of ice sliding down from the top of a mountain.... Next moment is a pause and then u see the avalanche come crashing down the heights. It brooks no opposition and conquers everything on its path.

We all need to participate in this unique struggle and do our bit to say "Enough"!

I look forward to a new India rising from the embers that Sucheta has lit today. She is doing justice to the beautiful name given to her by her parents. God bless her and everyone joining shoulders with her.

My happy day today is made out of my genuine pride at the battle started by Sucheta and the hope it has given birth too. Pls join her in her fight and help make our country a safer place.

Journey of pure joy - Day 8

#100Happydays/ Day 8

It is not just a happy moment or a happy day for me today. Today is a special day for the entire world. We are celebrating the International Women's day today and so this has to be the special occasion that I would like to choose as my happiness moment.

Our universe is made up of opposites and paradoxes. Evolution followed the basic principle of survival of the fittest. Might has often created right and hence it has been a violent past of our world which has shaped the history that we inherit and take forward.

On the other hand nature strives for balance. It has created the concept of two halves which unite together to make a whole. All of life (with an odd exception or two) is created from the union of these two halves which bring together opposite but complementary forces and attributes to continue this unique phenomenon of a living planet in our universe.

Civilisation in mankind has taken a very torturous route over different millennia and across different parts of the world. What has been common is this - the male species across the animal and human kingdoms has been dominant by the way of might and force. In fact, nature had to create the two part game probably for self-preservation - if it was only the male species left to itself, our world may have been destroyed a long time ago.

So we then have to thank the female species for keeping the world balanced and running. Let us take a few moments to recognise and acknowledge how the women in our world make our lives happen and happy.

We are dependent on women in their different roles in our lives... Starting with the most important - mother. Our life starts in the womb of our mother and it is here that we get our first experience of existence. The bond of love and concept of security that we experience even before our birth are all due to the selfless and ever giving love and protection of our mother.

We are nurtured through our immediate post-birth life by our mother who is essentially ensuring our survival in our early years.

Then follows a number of other unique and special relations I.e. Grandmother, Sister, aunt, teacher, Friend until we reach another special bond - our soulmate. This starts a new chapter of our life where we experience true love and a sense of being complete. Our life journey continues to bring us love and joy through bonds of a daughter, niece and grand-daughter.

The point of the entire narrative above is to briefly encapsulate the different roles that women play in our lives to enrich and complete our existence. How they bring balance, perspective, joy and love to our hearts and souls. How our life would be meaningless and incomplete without their presence.

So it is not just for joy or happiness that we must celebrate this special day today.

It is our duty and responsibility to cherish the women of our world, thank them and give them complete respect and support.

To each special and unique woman - You complete the world and make it a more special place - we treasure, honour and gratefully acknowledge your importance and presence in the world. May god bless you with all the love, joy and peace that you give away selflessly.

Journey of pure joy - day 7

#100Happydays/ Day 7

There are no coincidences!

We meet every person in our life because we are meant to meet them. We have that opportunity to connect with them, bond and decide how and what we wish to engage, learn, share, teach or just observe them.

Andrew and Michelle are a lovely couple who have been friends with us since we met each other at the hospital. Andrew is a cancer patient and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

They continue to be brave and strong through their tough times and are an inspiration for many others, including myself.

Today's happy moment was bumping into this lovely couple all of a sudden.

God bless them with good luck and a healthy future.

We think that we are in control and charting our own course of life - nothing could be further from the truth. Our life a maze in which we keep walking from one path to another trying to find answers to the number of questions that we keep getting faced with.

What we don't control is the family that we are born into. And we also don't know who we will face or come across through each minute of each day. We hope to find true friends and meet our soulmates across lifetimes - yet none of these are guaranteed or placed in front of us on a platter.

What we do have in our hands is how we react to every situation in life. How we treat everyone that we come across and what we gain or lose in the process.

Life is an evolving game of treasure hunt and we are faced with immense quantities of precious treasures strewn in our paths. Picking and choosing the right jewels is our choice and also our challenge. The fun increases when we get hold of coal pieces which we have the ability to transform into pure diamonds by virtue of our love and determination.

In one earlier post I talked about pursuing happiness and finding it elusive. There are 2 related wisdom quotes about love which give the same message.

1) "If you love something, let it go. If it returns, it’s yours; if it doesn’t, it wasn’t."

2) "If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they’re yours; if they don’t they never were."

These are the simple principles of the universe which decide the course that our life takes at each moment.

So we need to:

1) Be open to engage with life each moment with an open, accepting and humble soul
2) To give as much love as we want for ourselves
3) Let go of our ego and experience life with our heart and soul
4) Believe in miracles and in our ability to create them
5) Replace all negativity or self imposed limitations from ourselves
6) Live each day searching for and discovering the beauty of our inner self
7) Cherish our dear ones and let them know how much we love them and what they mean to us

And then the universe lays out all its treasures of love and joy and peace and success on our feet. Purity and selflessness always get the right rewards.

God bless

Love

Journey of pure joy - day 4

#100Happydays/ Day 4

It was a moment of unsurpassed joy that swept me off my feet today. Seeing my darling angel niece Inaya's divine smile was pure magic. God bless her with an equally joyful and magical life ahead.

Some days are different. Time takes a different course and we are behind the game. It has been one of days for me today. Chasing Happiness is probably not the best way to find the elusive monkey because that is exactly what it likes to play.... Hide and seek.

God does not live in heaven or churches, temples, masjids or gurdwaras. We go there to search for him, to feel his presence amongst us and to ask for our prayers and wishes to be fulfilled. Yet often we come back missing his essence or his gentle loving presence.

We live in this world believing it to be the highest form of reality. Yet, what if this world is just a playground for our playful spirits to come and play... To enjoy and learn, to discover and identify, to meet our friends and connect with our soulmates? What if we are just plain confused about joy and sorrow, funny and serious? What if we believe this oasis to be the truth when all it is in fact.. Is just a temporary mirage?

But then out of the cold dark grey sky beams out a ray of bright sunshine. Sparkling, shining bright, bringing warmth, love and a tender glow. Divine is probably the best word to describe this experience. Omnipresence is a term we rarely remember... But there lies the clue.. God lives amongst us all the time. He smiles at us through the twinkling eyes of a newborn. He laughs with us in the tickled delighted full shrieks of a toddler. He hugs us in a delightful magical hold of a two year old just wanting to show his shiny toy car.

God appears all around us... In each moment of our life, he is there, ever watchful, ever loving, ever protective and ever caring. He doesn't want anything from us... Not  prayers, not offerings, not sacrifices. He doesn't even want us to promise anything in exchange for all his love and blessings, he just wants us to be happy, to be true just to our own selves. He wants us to recognise our inner selves and to discover his presence in our hearts and souls.

So why don't we just stop and gaze deep into the eyes of a loved one... Look long enough till we can find the depth of the ocean within them... And in the ocean we find all the marvellous and exotic magnificent creatures created by our God..and jumping in there we embark on a journey of self discovery... Of adventure and the spirit of exploration.... Of seeking the true purpose of life and finding that we are not really separate individual people... Rather we are all part of a connected cosmos...we are energy forms linked with one another at the deepest level... Our ebbs and flows are joined together just like the waves of the ocean.

God has come once again in our lives in the form of Inaya. If you want proof... Just look into her eyes.

Love and light

God bless our little angel and god bless us all

Journey of pure joy - day 6

Some times the rule book needs to be thrown out of the window... Discipline and routine are great companions for living well... But there is a different fun in running out in the rain bare feet. Spontaneous joy is actually the best of it's kind. When there is no searching involved, and love and mischief combine together to tickle the heart.

In this case, the tickling went beyond the heart and joyfully continued into the palate.

The taste buds erupted with delightful sensations of multiple spices... Ranging from hot to tangy and sweet to spicy.

"Live to eat" or "eat to live" are the two common ways in which each one of us tend to live out our lives. We can veer in either direction for periods of our life but generally we all under one of these two.

The difference is simple.... In the first category, we are driven crazy by dreams, thoughts, sight, taste or the mere memory of food. Food overtakes our sensibility and life is full of cravings and desires.

In the other category, life is a lot more controlled and organised. We eat food so that we may live healthy, work productively and focus on goals and achievements. We are a lot more methodical in our approach... Maybe slightly mechanical as well. It depends on what exactly our other pursuits are..in a simplified perspective, if we are not interested or excited by the sensations of our taste buds, our approach and direction in life may well be quite bland. We may live our life by a set of disciplinary rules... Bind ourselves in shackles of strict time management and pre-conditioned style of decision making. Our other interests and pursuits may be equally rudimentary.

I am not trying to categorise each one of us in either of the two boxes. Neither am I creating a very tightly defined model or representation of individual personalities based on food preferences. That would be too naive and immature a judgement. However, I am attempting to create an analogy which serves us with a point of reflection. Can we place ourselves in any of these different dimensions of lifestyles and draw any correlations from our preferences? Can we see if we are strict and constrained in the way we approach each decision point or we are also open to new ideas, innovation and fresh insights?

Today, I infringed from my routine sedentary diet to have a swipe on the wild side. I gave in to my craving for spicy and delicious food ... Just for this once... As a treat!

It felt great this evening... Almost criminal or sinful. And I do not regret one moment of it.

The only question left to be answered here is.... Was this a solitary infringement or have I sold my soul to the devil?

Only time will tell....

I await my punishment from my dear ones who worry about my well being!

Until the next infringement.

God bless

Love you all.

Journey of pure joy - day 3

#100Happydays/ Day 3

http://youtu.be/-S69TWDL88E

Today's top happy moment is seeing the dedicated efforts of my dearest wife Urvashi in potting the primroses pay off within a day. She has blossomed into an expert gardener with an avid interest in nature - god bless her.

The poor plants were drooping and getting drowned in the over rainy conditions over the past few days. Her loving and careful arrangements in the pots can be seen in the first section of the video. It has taken less than 24 hours for the plants to revive with new buds appearing overnight. The rest of the primroses were planted in December by us both and we are delighted with all of them doing well through the winter season. Our winter has been full of colour and beauty because of the variety of plants and flowers that we have planted, purchased or been gifted with.

Hyacinths, orchids, violas, roses, primroses, tulips, ivy, cyclamens, chrysanthemums, daffodils and a few others which we still need to find the names of :-)

6 months ago, I wouldn't even have known about the names of all these flowers or plants. No wonder then, that their beauty and joy were not part of our lives. We had been happily or rather carelessly living out grey, wet and dull winters for years without knowing any better.

And then came the first ray of sunshine in our dark winter season. A chance journey to a garden centre gave us glimpses of what we were missing and how much fun and love we could create and enjoy just with very little interest. That has started us off on a journey of discovery that nature offers to each one of us who is willing to tread on the path. The oasis of nature that we create within our barren deserts of life are such brilliant examples of how the choices that we make in our lives lead us to different destinations or levels of achievements.

This is no longer just true about gardening and it expands into each and every sphere of life. We choose what we would like to get in our lives... Rarely do we choose mindfully though.... Most of our choices are made through our pre-programmed sub-conscious mind bases on our past experiences, successes, trials or tribulations.

Our natural curiosity which is our basic nature as children, gets suppressed and we gently slip into the auto-pilot mode of living life. We accept and even impose limitations on our creativity, talents, ambitions and abilities. We don't question status quo and that is when life turns into monotony.

As we joyfully discovered over the past few weeks, it is very much in our own hands to decide what we want to fill our lives with. We can change every circumstance, overcome each challenge or difficulty as long as we are willing to imagine it and to work in the direction of making it happen.

Our choices determine the path on which we live our lives. Destiny is the outcome of what we want and not the other way round.

These flowers are beautiful proof of how we can create our life of dreams.

Try it for yourself my dear ones

God bless

Journey of pure joy - day 2

The #100Happydays challenge is to experience and share happiness for 100 consecutive days.

I am still trying to figure out how I will combine my happiness experiences and the observations and learnings along the way in a shareable way across the multiple platforms of this blog, Facebook and Twitter.

The reason I have this dilemma is because I don't believe that happiness or joy can be experienced or appreciated in isolation. Life offers us many different questions or options and all of them lead us onto newer directions or experiences. There are multiple choices we face each moment and the roller coaster of emotions that come  along with them.

So happiness is never complete unless I have experienced failure or sadness. Only when I accept the stumbles, pains or sorrows, how can I truly cherish those special moments and joys of life?

Maybe I will limit the Facebook updates to daily happiness sharing and use this blog to capture every other experience. Not completely clear yet and some more experimenting will help make it all seamless and clear.

Seeing efforts made by others to make a bigger contribution towards our society moves me. Watching Satyamev Jayate today was an emotional experience as it must have been for most of the audience around the world. The crusade that one of our finest and most sensitive Bollywood stars (Aamir Khan) has started is noble and needs to be complimented.

More than that, it needs the active participation of each and every one of us in changing our personal value systems, our definition of the civic and humanitarian responsibilities that we need to own up to beyond the meager boundaries of our own and our family safety, security and comfort of life that we currently believe to be the comfort zone within which we need to live our lives.

The day today was a mixed one for me. Of course had enough moments of pure joy, but these were mixed with realisation that there is a lot more to do....to improve, to learn and to contribute. Otherwise, the happiness will feel just like a cocoon and basically hollow. Without setting any targets or ambitions, I am embarking on this journey. My thinking is that if we were meant to live scripted lives with pre-set  targets, milestones or destinations, we would all have been born with goal sheets and have annual appraisal reviews.

Journey of pure joy - day 1

Good Morning y'all!! My dear Sis Anita Luthra Suri had told me about 100 Happy Days challenge and I figured March 1st is the perfect day to start. Basically you challenge yourself to be happy for 100 days straight by focusing on something that made you happy that day! At the end you can even get a book of your #100happydays pictures! I'm going to post mine on Facebook and this blog to keep a chart of my fun journey.

This blog is my effort to keep a real time track of the steps that unfold before me on this journey and share my experiences, lessons and learnings. I also want to use this blog to make it an involving experience for my dear ones to join me and guide me along each step of the way. 

Then I think, what good will it do just to find happiness just for myself - it sounds selfish. It is quite easy for me because I have always believed that happiness is a state of being or rather a choice. I can choose to be happy and it works just like a switch.

The mind is a unique object... Left by itself, it just wants to enjoy life and have fun each moment. Entertainment is the name of the game. However, reign it in, focus, concentrate it's attention and that is when things start happening.

I don't know what shape or form this journey will take me on... Not sure that happiness is supposed to be a destination or the experience of the journey itself. I consider myself a happy-go-lucky sort of a person anyways and don't normally have any problems in finding positivity in my own life. What normally can pull me down though is pain and troubles of dear ones. Also when I see injustice happening around our society, it pains.

So maybe there are other challenges that I need to define along the next 98 days which will make a bigger impact or difference.


I am also a dreamer... I believe in a bigger purpose... A bigger potential which lies buried within each one of us until we go searching after it. We normally live our life distracted by the external world... The real journey of our life is the inner discovery of our real self. 

You all should try it too.

www.100happydays.com