Making memories

Hi friends,  my last post was about my #100happydays that I completed and the whys and hows of it.

 I have been asked by several of my friends to have an open-ended happy days which they felt was inspiring and good-to- follow on my page. As I debate whether to do that or not - have 100 happy weeks or 100 happy months, I decided to put some random thoughts  to paper... So here goes....

  




Last week , I had an opportunity of traveling across the breadth of my  state, Kerala, situated on the Malabar coast of southwestern India. Aptly named  

"God's own country",  Kerala abounds in natural beauty varying from  beaches to hill stations and that unique feature of this beautiful state - its backwaters. As often happens  all my visits to my home state Kerala have been devoid of "exploring it" per se.  This time however  we decided to "see"  a little of Keralam... starting with the north ...

As yet undiscovered by  tourists,  Kannur has a beautiful coastline with a few lesser known beaches like Peyyambalam Beach  Baby beach and a particularly interesting one known as the Drive-in Beach supposedly one of its kind in Kerala. Kannur has very few resorts and 5 Star hotels to boast of and home stays form an important form of accommodation for tourists  in this quaint little town.

We stayed in a Govt guest house very aptly named Jannat that is built as part of twin guest houses literally on the beach. With a coconut grove  separating it from the rocky beach, it is a place one can spend hours......reading, reflecting or  just watching the sea change its moods from calm and still to rough and tumultuous...reflecting one's own mind. My husband also seemed as taken with the sea and the beautiful surroundings...as we watched the boats go by,  watched the sunset from the room or had breakfast on the beach. Morning walks were a study in contrast to the ones I had become accustomed to used to in the busy Metros -  I found time to stand and stare and listen and imbibe.....sounds and scents and sights...Kannur has been in the news off and on for some disturbances, but to me,  it offered a place to  rest, recoup and rejuvenate my mind.

As I watched the waves,  I marveled at the way they  mirrored life itself  and the people we meet along life's way........... As each wave crashes on the beach and having spent its energy, recedes, it meets another wave on its onward journey towards the beach....they meet and both change ...in  direction, depth and content   just as we  do as and when we meet people who change our lives in some little way, tangible or intangible

.  All relationships begin as strangers who cross each others paths by accident  or providence as we traverse the path of life.  And ever so often, these chance meetings result in relationships which affect each others lives in various ways, sometimes just for a season...sometimes  for an entire lifetime. We change a little with each life that we touch and each one that touches ours... never the same again. Ah, Life! 

The other place in Kannur I really liked was the Drive in Beach. The Muthappan temple, the colorful and awe inspiring Theyyam,  the lighthouse, the Bekal Fort and  the newly made Arackal museum are some of the other sights that Kannur offers.

We may be busy with innumerable things in our lives.......but its important to take time out.... and re-connect. Reconnect with ourselves first of all.... with our world...with the people in our lives..  Cliched as it may sound, I remember a quote.... Take vacations ... You can always make money... but you can't always make memories...

Discover  unexplored territories... in yourself ....and in the world around you..Make memories..

Cheers till my next missive....... Have a great weekend......

Ripples and Reflections: #100happydays

Ripples and Reflections: #100happydays

#100happydays

Its been ages since i updated my blog or rather blogged at all.....Today I have a small story to tell......so here goes..... 

 A self-confessed  internet junkie, I was randomly browsing when I came across this site which challenged us to be happy for 100 days at a stretch. It also came with a statutory warning  that as many as 71% of the people who took up this challenge failed to complete it, citing lack of time. Life  is stressful at times and at that moment in time, I was going through a period of self doubts and apprehensions.  As I explored the site, I felt that it was worthwhile giving it a try........... I had nothing to lose but my apprehensions!  The exercise required me to post a picture everyday, for 100 days in a row,  about something that had made me happy that day... sounded simple and yet 71% had been  unable to do it..Was I up to it? I decided to give it a try. 

I started the challenge on 19 Feb 2014 and today, I posted a pic of my 100th happy day in succession on Facebook, which I had chosen as my platform for my album! Am feeling happy of course, but more than that, I have learnt a wonderful lesson that all of us can learn... or  maybe  we actually need to learn. 

All of us lead extra busy lives. There is no doubt. A myriad of roles to play , a legion of "to-do" lists, a surfeit of responsibilities ...........amidst all this,  we do not have  the time to see the happy moments in our own lives,  let alone have time to  "stand and stare".  Had I also lost the ability to find something good in my life?  To appreciate the beauty of certain moments in my life?  Was that preventing me from becoming a happier and more contented person? I decided to find out. 

Am I  happy I did that!!!  As I captured on camera, at least one moment that brought me happiness, in each day , I started finding more than that one moment I needed on certain days. I started finding enough to make a small grid of pictures on some days. Simple pleasures of life from cooking, to reading, to beauty of nature, to time spent with loved ones, time spent with my self, with my pets, my kids , to a word of thanks from a patient who would probably never touch my life again.  All of these moments made it to my own little album of happy moments. I also fund a little group of friends who looked fwd to my posts and added to my happiness by their own wonderful thoughts and comments. 

Today as I look back I find a little more confidence in the belief that "this too will pass". A lot of cliches are no longer  mere cliches. I have learnt that all days may not be good but there is definitely some good in everyday. One has to just make an effort to look for the light in one's life....it may be  under the bushel sometimes,  sometimes bright and lighting up your life... but  its there ......always there.

Once we look for happiness and more importantly, learn to look for it , we find it. Just condition your mind to look for it everyday...if possible even more often. .And as the reasons for being happy increase, your reasons for worrying and having self doubts look less daunting, and at least, less important. Life has its challenges, it has to be lived. One can never wish ones problems away. But finding these little gems of happiness along life's  way makes them that much easier to  overcome, solve or even to just endure. 

It makes a smile easier to give and  a tear easier to  hold back. 

Oprah Winfrey famously said..happiness is there for the taking -and making. So go ahead folks make and take happiness. 

Have a happy day, every day.........make it 10....100....1000........ have a lifetime of happy days.......

Feel the joy....... It worked for me .. I hope it does for you, too.

Thank you http://100happydays.com/!