Fireworks all year

©MCD

Do you know why we use fireworks, sparkles and bangs to welcome the New Year? It stems from centuries-old traditions that sound and light made evil spirits afraid and were thus used to ward off evil.

We too hope that by filling the final month of the year and the subsequent first of the new one with lights and glitter will help bring luck, fortune, prosperity, health and blessings to our life.

Have you noticed how we light up inside and the world seems happier with all the festive decorations during the Christmas and New Year season?

We don’t need much to be happy and bloom. But we often forget that we are the creators of our well-being and happiness.

So let’s make a resolution this year to keep ourselves as happy as we begin the new months, to spread love just as we wish to receive it, and to keep the hope alive that everything will work out for the best with new adventures lying ahead.

Happy New Year everyone!

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Coloured time

©GE

And just like that, summer has passed and we’re already in the middle of autumn.

Without even realising how the days have gone by so quickly.

Often when we’re too busy with life itself, we don’t have time to even consider how it flies by.

Perhaps it’s better that way too.

Because we enjoy it more.

We fill our days with adventure, so much that it finds us even when we’re not looking for it.

The key is this: to keep yourself entertained so you are barely able to sulk about anything negative.

Keep your eyes, mind, and heart open. Good things are coming if you send out the right vibes.

The invisible battles

You know that cashier who was rude the other day at the supermarket? The salesperson who seemed uninteresting in helping you? The waiter who evidently ignored you no matter how politely you called numerous times? The person on the bus who took up the whole adjacent seat and did not allow you a space to sit, or the driver who broke out in rage at the morning traffic jam?

They all affect your mood somehow or other.

Because we allow ourselves to be unconsciously burdened by the other’s disposition.

Consider it: If you begin your morning with angered yells, noise from all around, impoliteness, offensive remarks and gestures, and a general irritation that has no apparent cause, won’t you too inadvertently adopt an agitation you cannot explain?

But what about if you started your day with a smile? A sweet good morning message from a loved one, an unexpected caring note, a smile with your take-away coffee, a ‘have a good day’ from the customer you assist, a polite wave from the driver you allow to insert the queue in front of you. Wouldn’t that instantly make you feel better? The satisfaction you receive is immense even from the slightest of things that may seem irrelevant to you.

That morning greeting may have made someone’s day. And it subconsciously also made yours too.

Be polite, always. There is no excuse for rudeness. Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

Courtesy costs nothing.

The problem with happiness

The problem with happiness, is that you feel it won’t last. We are too informed nowadays to know that everything can change in a split second. Your entire life can be uprooted in a single breath.

You never know what you’re going to face every morning you’re lucky to wake up. But you still need to believe that something wonderful is about to happen. Perhaps it truly works, that if you emanate positivity and optimism it will also surround you.

It is very likely that our biggest challenge is fighting our own doubts and overthinking.

Maybe it would be easier if we just let things just be. Allow life to take its course, without pressing too much for a particular outcome, without expecting too much either.

If we allow happiness to find us, it might just settle inside us too, if it finds itself welcomed.

Let’s live each day as it comes, and you never know, there may just be a pleasant surprise waiting to be revealed.

The magic seashell

©MCD

They were healing. Those long walks on the beach. Particularly when there was no one else around. Those hours of the day when the water was calm. There was something soothing in that feeling of warm sand under your feet and among your toes.

Since she was a child, Addison also loved to collect seashells along the water. It was something she learnt to do with her dad and a memory she cherished dearly.

But as she grew up, she found increasingly fewer seashells on the beach.

This was a day though when this changed.

There were abundant seashells along the waterline. All pretty in their own way, regardless of size.

But there was one that captured her gaze from afar. It was shinier than the rest, with bright rigged lines. It was beautiful in all its glory.

The moment she picked it up, she felt a blur and an instant pull. She blinked and realized she was on another beach somewhere even more mesmerizing than before. Someone was calling her name and she felt her heart skip a beat. She felt happy without knowing why. He was coming toward her and she could feel herself smile widely.

It may be a dream, or reality with a delay; it may take a magic seashell or simply perseverance; but whatever it is, life finds a way of compensating us for every hardship.

When it’s over

“When the worse is over, you’ll hardly remember it all. Trust me, people tend to forget the hardships they suffer, when ‘normality’ is restored”.

She stared at her aunt emitting words of wisdom. Her eyes were still puffy and red from the crying, but she had no more tears to shed. She was drained of energy and too exhausted to even speak.

“We’ve all been there. In some form or other. People experience all sorts of adversities in their life. It may be a separation, a loss, having to search for a house and move, having to build a life from scratch, dealing with bureaucracy, managing the lack of inefficiency or communication; all kinds of things. Whatever you can imagine. For each person, a challenge or a difficulty is interpreted differently. But there is one thing in common for all: whatever it is, however much you suffer, you always endure and come out stronger. The toil helps us become better people”.

“There is a truth that you find out who your real friends are when you’re in need of support. But the most profound truth is that in difficulty you discover yourself too. Who you are. And you’re amazed at how much the human spirit can withstand and survive”.

“So don’t despair. It will all pass. And you’ll look back, recalling the details you’ll soon wash away from memory, and you’ll laugh”.

She cracked a smile and her eyes sparkled again. Her aunt always had a way of making everything seem brighter. Even in the darkest of times, there is always a brink of light shining somewhere. She just needed someone to help her see it.

Restless spirits

Nature shows us that life occurs beautifully without constant pressure;

Yet we cannot tame our restless spirits;

Incessantly fidgeting.

Also part of Weekend Writing Prompt #206

It’s coming

Stop. Quieten down for a minute and listen.

Do you hear it?

Wait.

Activate all senses.

You’re bound to feel it.

That uncanny sense that something is imminent.

It’s coming.

Just be prepared.

Breathe.

And above all…

Simply smile.

Also part of Weekend Writing Prompt #205

It’s not always fine

The truth is noone cares about your problems.

Every person has something of their own their dealing with.

And everyone considers their own circumstance more special, more serious, more tragic.

It’s sometimes difficult to even find ways to help each other.

And more often than not we tire of repeating our problems; it feels that we’re constantly accentuating them. But sharing often helps lessen the load. It alleviates part of the burden simply by expressing how it’s all making you feel to someone else, someone you trust and feel safe with. That’s what (real) friends are for. To help you unload when hardship strikes. They’re there at your worse, and not only when it’s all fun and games. But it also depends on you and how much you let people in.

The truth is, no one can comprehend what you’re going through unless they’ve experienced something similar. And not everyone will deal with the same things in the same way with the same mentality.

But we need each other to get through things. To maintain our sanity, our peace of mind; to survive.

Life is not always fine. Sometimes neither are you. But it’s your choice to let others help restore that.

The greatest value

“The thoughts in our head – the negative ones in particular – rent a space there. One that we have difficulty vacating. Don’t let them do that. Raise the rent and kick out everything that is not good for your soul”.

Personal “life coaches” have this ability of making you see things you refuse to acknowledge.

There is a truth in the saying “you’re not a tree. If you don’t like where you are, move”. We have roots to keep us grounded, but that does not need to be literal. Our home is the entire world if we will it to. The key is learning to realise the difference between giving up and knowing when you’ve had enough, and being strong enough to make the changes necessary.

Getting rid of toxic situations is life-changing. It liberates your soul, cleans your mental space and offers you the much-needed peace to be able to evolve and become the best version of you. And that alone is the greatest value you can offer yourself.