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

Turning 25...

25.

Such a strange number, such a strange age. It's the age of certainty, the quarter of stability. The age you're either this side or that. There's no in between. By the time you're 25, you're most likely to and expected to have a perfect job, a dream relationship, deep core values and a hell load of wisdom. In other words, your status is 'settled', or 'soon-to-settle' at worst. You're living the life you dreamed of on your graduation. You're serving as an idol to many. And you're probably exercising, eating green, healthy food and flossing everyday. But does turning 25, by default, grant you with the life so conventional, life so perfect? 

The answer is no. Turning 25 you might still find yourself juggling with your values, swimming in confusion, and not always reaching the shore. Your job might not be as perfect as you imagined, and you may not have a clue of what you'd like to do to get closer to your perfect. You probably find yourself contemplating on a startup idea a day, and not settling with any for a life long business. You might not be married, possibly not even engaged. 

Well, let's come to terms with this in saying IT'S OKAY. Living in the hope of being magically hit with that breakthrough start up idea has its own charm. And to be honest, it is not having something that makes you want to have it and work towards having it. So the contemplation is probably worth it. At the end of the day, Facebook is the child of Zuckerberg's contemplation. And then there are relationships. Let's just say, knights in shining armours are seen riding on their white horses at every corner these days. The idea of one and only true love is long forgotten. And living in a world with 7 billion others, surely you'll find your knight. 

I may not have achieved the most conventional life so far, but if there's one thing that I've learnt in these 25 years, and attempt to practice everyday is to live in the present. Presence of mind is so underrated. You may have your baggage of past and your bundle of future dreams, but it'll always be the present that you are living at any given point. And yet, it's this present that we miss out living at large. So turn 25, 30 or even 100 if you like, as it's not about how many years of life you've lived, but about how much of that life you lived in the moment. So have big dreams and wishes even bigger, but stay away from indulging into stresses of not living the society-approved life at a given age; because seriously, IT'S OKAY. You'll figure it out, even if it's in the midst of the ifs and buts of life.

#LaughingAnanas

iMeditate

Day before, I went to a Meditation Centre to celebrate a friend's birthday. She goes there often, but it was my first time. It's called the The London Centre of Self-Realization Fellowship. 

To briefly introduce... 

This centre is managed by members of Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), an organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. The purpose of this SRF centre is to provide a communal place for people to practice the teachings of Yogananda, indulge in group meditations and provide spiritual support to each other. The centre runs on a schedule and is open to everyone who wishes to practice meditation. They also have a library with a great set of books and audio tapes that you can shuffle through, or buy of course.

My Experience

I'd gone for an hour long meditation class with a whole bunch of people who were also going to meditate along with me. The place looked insanely serene. As soon as you walk in, you cease to speak. The only language of communication in here was that of silence. Entering a place so silent, in a hustling bustling London, almost felt unreal! I was surprised to see how many people turned up to experiment with this type of practice. 

People from all sorts of different religions were there together, practicing the art of meditation. The service started with a prayer and a short story that was read by an old lady who ran that particular meditation practice. FYI, the person running this service is subject to change. Following this, we sat in meditation for about 40 minutes. 

It felt amazingly peaceful! That silence from all the noise of the city and the noise of the mind got me feeling formless. The undying voice of the mind finally seemed to take deep long breaths before uttering each new sentence. There was a time when it completely stopped speaking! And the body? Don't be afraid if your body goes numb, it's only a good sign. 

It really was a beautiful experience. As the service finished, I woke up with tears in my eyes to find this energized spirit and stillness within me. This feeling is the best gift you can give yourself. 

Turns out, it was a great way to celebrate her birthday, and an extremely productive hour. I definitely recommend it!

              

#LaughingAnanas

A conversation between two friends...

Akira: Anthropophobia. That's it. That's what I think I have. I'm scared of people. So scared.

Kabira: What type of people are you scared of?

Akira: I'm scared of them all. I'm scared of Masters and I'm scared of Minions. I'm scared of the Fair and the Foul. I'm scared of the Smarties and the Dummies. I'm scared of those who appear to be my Friends and those who I've known to be my Foes. 

Kabira: Really? That many?

Akira: Yeah, sometimes I'm even scared of you! And it's fine, you know. Isn't everyone scared of each other anyway?

Kabira: Possibly.

Akira: Who is it that you're scared of the most? 

Kabira: The fine man I see in the mirror everyday. Myself.

_ _ _ _

Don't we all feel like Akira time and again? Sometimes we're afraid of people, other times we're afraid of heights. Either way, fear is a major part of our lives that we externalize onto people, things and events. 

But on reflecting upon oneself, we realize that fear is within us. It's all in the mind. It's like our own personal demon based on accumulation of our insecurities, failures, traumatic experiences and ego, along with many other factors. This demon within us drives our day-to-day lives, affects our decisions and of course, determines our behaviours. Consequently, the demon in our minds paints our outer reality. 

In that case, should we find threat and be scared of what's outside of us? Or should we let go of and recognize the threat that lies within us? 

#LaughingAnanas

The Life of Akira

"My dear Akira, I see worry lines on your forehead. What is it that brings you here today?", asked the wise old sage.

"I... I don't know", said the hesitant Akira.

"Is that so? And what is it that you don't know", prompted the sage gently. 

"It's just... nothing makes me feel happy. I don't look forward to anything. I don't even feel like I'm entirely here in front of you", confessed Akira.

"I see. Tell me Akira, is there anything you did to overcome this feeling?", interrogated the sage further.

"Of course I did. I did it all to realize my dreams. I've been there all to find my happiness. I wandered in the deserts and I voyaged in the seas. I flew over the moons and I dug under the soil. I saw my tomorrow and I relived my yesterday. No luck. Tell me, o knower of all, am I dying?"

To this, the sage finally revealed:

"My dear Akira, you have been there all. You wandered in the deserts and you voyaged in the seas. You flew over the moons and dug under the soil. You have seen your Tomorrow and relived your Yesterday. But the only place you haven't been to, is Today."

#LaughingAnanas #CarpeDiem

iEat Avocado Toast

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Simple but Genius!

It's almost like my new tradition. I fall asleep after a big long day, go to the nicest places in my dreams - up the mountains and under the water of course, wake up when my alarm starts screaming at me, get myself on a Yoga mat to burn off my totally unnecessary carbs and run straight to the kitchen bewitched by the thought of my Avocado waiting for me to crack it open and destroy it. 

My Cracked Open Avo :)

A Recipe for Blessing

Key Ingredients:

A pinch of sea salt
A dash of black pepper
A drop of lemon
A slice of bread
A hint of excitement
And a very questionable Avocado

The Avo-Tomato Duet on my Chop Board

There's a lot you can do to this fruit to make it yummy in your tummy, I generally like to dissect it into thin, long strips for starters. 

You might also want to chop a tomato for your toast (optional), I like to.   

The rest is really a personal choice, some hand mash the Avocado while others like them in strips for their toast. I have phases - at times mashed, at times shredded pieces. Whatever you do, don't forget to sprinkle some salt, lemon and lots of black pepper. And drizzling some olive oil on top of it all, is always a good idea.

I've started to realize that a nice healthy breakfast in the morning really defines the rest of your day. My new Avo Toast tradition leaves me feeling fresh and energetic for the rest of my day! In fact, Leo Widrich, the Co-founder and COO at Buffer, points out How your Productivity is Determined by What you Eat in his blog. And especially eating Avocados is believed to lower bad cholesterol, and improve learning and muscle function. See for yourself!

In the meantime ..

PRESENTING MY AVO TOAST!

Type A - Long pieces with sprinkled black pepper et al.

Type B - Mashed Avo with grilled Halloumi

Type C - Mashed Avo with an evil smile

Try it, and let me know how you liked it. Stay healthy, wealthy and wise. And, for more Avo experiments and recipes, check out The Scoop Avocado Blog.

Bon Appétit! :)

iSing to my Plant

That's right!

It's soon going to be two years to that day when my dad bought me my very own Aloe Vera plant from a flea market that did a lot more than selling used, old rags. It sold life.

That's what he looked like when he was born to me

I'd take my Aloe everywhere, to the swings, on walks, underground tubes, and of course, supermarkets.

Spotted: Chilling in London with my friend :)

And most importantly, iSing to it. You may call it strange, but it's just a way of showing love. And my Aloe likes it like that.

Plants like music - FACT

There are a lot of studies in the market that have spent a lifetime in proving this instance. A beautiful snippet of this is presented by Sanjay Sharma in The Effect of Music on Plant Growth and Pests, for all those of you who are interested in learning more. 

Question. So plants like music, but how does that help you?

It helps your Attitude. Plants react to the attitude with which they are nurtured. And to raise a brilliant child plant, the parent aka YOU, must also have a brilliant attitude. An attitude of Love, Care and Patience. These are the key rules of life that raising a plant will teach you and fill your life with. Do you like that? So go for it! Improve your own life by raising another life with the right kind of attitude. Really, that's all it takes - One Good Morning Song a day :)

As for my Aloe, he continues to breathe, grow and live ...

Take 1

Take 2

New Life: Baby Pups beside Big Daddy

In fact, he's started having his own children. Just recently, I potted his baby pups in a different pot, so they don't overcrowd :) It's a beautiful feeling. I have enjoyed it and I know you will too. Try it! Keep living, keep loving! 

I'm a virgin blogger, naturally not knowing much about how stuff works around here. I'd really appreciate all the comments, advice and feedback. Gracias. 

Love life!

The Aloe Life