You Don't Need To Be Happy...

"Akira, my beloved, I see sweat beads on your forehead. Is there something that bothers you?", asked the wise old sage.

"I guess... I'm unsure. I don't feel like myself anymore.", said the concerned Akira.

"This 'myself' that you mention, what is that self like?", the sage enquired.

"Well I guess, I used to be crazy, full of life and always happy. My friends say I used to exude happiness anywhere and everywhere I went, you know, like a bundle of joy. But, now they tell me I have changed. They tell me I have lost my spark. I wonder if this is real, you know? Have I really forgotten how to be happy?", said Akira as he poured his heart out.

A faint smile subtly painted itself on the sage's face as he looked at Akira and disclosed, "Akira, you don't need to be happy. Just be content."

_____

Happiness is extremely overrated. The word happiness, with its simplistic connotation of pleasure, has gotten the whole world chasing and running behind an illusion of a perfect, happy life. People are inescapably judged based on their degree of happiness, and the amount of pleasure they derive from life. But really, one should watch out for this vicious circle of societal judgments and the need to acquire happiness as a measure of one's well-being. In this society, we are all just blind, leading blind. 

In the above interaction of Akira with the sage, those few wise words reveal how happiness is not what one's end goal should be. It should rather be contentment. One should work towards deriving satisfaction from their walk of life, rather than blindly running behind what society proclaims as happiness. Learning the skill of contentment is generally neglected as we have been taught to focus on attaining what we don't have instead of finding fulfilment in the realisation of what we do have. Contentment leaves you feeling fulfilled, satisfied and grateful, whereas happiness is fleeting, temporary and always accompanied by sadness. Hence, don't run after happiness, but rather work towards a well-balanced and well-prioritised life comprising of both materialistic and spiritual goals. 

People's perception of your well-being is not important, yours is. Don't worry about forgetting how to be happy, as long as you remember how to be content. 

#LaughingAnanas

A Wishing Well

 

One afternoon, Akira was marching through the forest, carrying a sack of his many troubles on his weary shoulders. He stopped to rest by a well, that according to a famous myth, was magical by nature. The well was known to grant the wishes of all those who sat by it.

Akira looked into the bountiful water of the magical well, as he reflected upon his troubles. He started to feel thirsty and wished for some water. Suddenly, a glass of cold water appeared before him. A shocked Akira inspected the water and downed every last sip of it. 

He then started to feel hungry and wished for a hearty meal. He suddenly had in his hands, a plate full of delicious food items. Perplexed, he examined the food and ate up every last crumb of it. 

Seeing his wishes being granted, he thought he'd test the magic by wishing for a grand house, all for himself. To his disbelief, a mansion-like house appeared right in front of him. Amazed, he thought to himself that maybe he's being tricked and maybe he should seek something more real, more life-like. 

He shot another arrow in the dark and wished for a beautiful maiden to get settled with. And voila! Standing right before him, was an attractive young lady with a big smile on her face. By this time, Akira was almost certain that it was all unreal. To prove it, he touched the girl saying, "There is no way you are real. Someone is just playing a big, fat joke on me. I can't be this lucky!" At the very instant, everything he wished for disappeared in front of his eyes. 

Akira shook his head in pride, picked up his sack of many troubles and said, "I knew it..." 

-----

There is no beauty in the world till you have the eyes to see it. The flowers will bloom, but you will fail to see them. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Likewise, there is no Master till there is a Disciple. And likewise, there can be no gift for you till you know how to receive it. 

So many of us go on searching for something without developing a corresponding receptivity in ourselves. We try to see beauty in the world, not knowing that our eyes are shut. We try to seek for a Master, not knowing that the Disciple in us is absent. We expect to be gifted, not knowing we don't know how to receive the present. 

That's what poor Akira was completely unaware of. How could he possibly sustain any of the wishes he was granted, if he didn't believe them to be true, and was unable to be grateful and accept them? A mind in complete disbelief is capable of driving away the most real of things; just as, a mind in hope is able to attract the most unrealistic...

#LaughingAnanas

iAm Loved ..

.. and Blessed.

I didn't know how it would go when I first started penning my thoughts down in this alter-ego-avatar-blog of mine, aka Laughing Ananas. My sole aim was to encourage a healthy lifestyle and express that it doesn't have to be that difficult to be incorporated in our same ol' day to day lives. And now I wonder.. how's it going? Big hit, big fail? Readers healthy, readers unhealthy? Well, me no know.

But, when I get whatsapps and inboxes, from the most unexpected, asking when the next Ananas post is scheduled for or saying they can't wait for more posts and that the Ananas should keep writing ..

And then I see those who religiously like, share, comment their words of motivation on every single post inspiring the Ananas to laugh even more ..

And those anonymous friends, who probably follow the Ananas by mail just so they can, by default, post their feedback under every post as soon as it comes out ..

And of course those who are completely nonexistent when it comes to social media, and too busy to even shoot a hello once in a blue moon. But, when the Ananas first spoke, they revived their close-to-dead accounts, and spread his word of mouth on, oh yes, la social media!

And the others who actually walk the walk of the Ananas by practicing his suggestions habitually as an everyday thing - eating the avocados, singing to their plants and going as far as hula hooping at the dinner table! Not to forget, getting back to the Ananas to inform how much they enjoy their daily avocado ..

And then some other newly-mets, who don't just keep an eye out for the 'coming up on Ananas', but compare his words to that of the Grand Master Osho's!

Makes the Ananas feel blessed. Feel loved.

So loved, that there are so many genuinely interested in what a random, high-on-life Pineapple has to say.

Thank you for supporting and keeping the Ananas in your kitchen :) You know who you are.

#laughingananas