New year is not even a day away. It’s 1:16 am on 31st December already! While every other friend of mine is gearing up for the new year bash, I’m sitting next to my computer screen, earphones plugged in my left ear (right ear is injured) and simply smiling… I still can’t figure out why there’s this curvature (smile) on my face. Maybe, it’s because this year, i.e., in 2013, I’ve fallen in love with this world!

Yes, the world is not as bad as it is projected by most people. One needs to be in sync with whatever is happening around him, and appreciate nature with its imperfections. During monsoons, for instance, owing to the torrential rainfall in my hometown Dehradun, people grumble that they can’t go for an outing. But for me, monsoons are the best time of the year. I can sit for hours in my balcony just watching the rain drops fall on rose petals, and conquering the maximum surface area within seconds. I cherish those moments, and get fascinated by the invincibility of the Rain- which is unstoppable.

“It is the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.”

I don’t know whether I’m wise or not, but this quote from The Alchemist is etched in the core of my memory. Why have we started calling our life a ‘struggle’? Why is everybody wanting to outstrip everyone else? Why have terms like ‘cut-throat competition’ been added to our vocabulary? We have become civilised. We have built skyscrapers, computers, cars, bikes and many such devices which reduce human labour, but in return we have lost our peace of mind, so much so that even some filthy rich individuals take sleeping pills to get their mind to rest at night.

‘Workaholic’ is what everybody wants to be today. But what people don’t realize is the fact that all these goals- after which we run incessantly, won’t be of any significance even on fulfillment if we have nobody beside us to pat our back on that achievement. Appreciation, after all, is what our heart wants. Solitude opens up our mind to new ideas, but if we feel lonely and abandoned during times when we need people the most, that is the worst feeling in the world. We feel lonely even in a crowd of people, and this feelings tears apart the foundations of our ‘self.’

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

Life is not about how many trophies we have on our showcase. Instead of striving to earn money, we must toil and bring a smile on someone’s face. We might throw a big party, get wasted, and have the ‘best birthday ever.’ But that momentary happiness will be nothing in comparison to the ecstasy and contentment that we will attain on visiting an orphanage and spreading smiles on the faces of the children there….

We are taught since childhood to toil for perfection, but this does not mean that we lose ourselves during the course of reaching our destination. We are a heterogenous mixture of personalities. Even identical twins aren’t identical in terms of their personalities, in terms of their mindset. We should compete with others, but not at the expense of losing ourselves completely in the process of attaining greater heights. The major cause of depression nowadays is that people are unable to enjoy their lives the way they used to earlier. As people age, they tend to smile less, and reason it by saying that there is tension in their lives. This should not be the case. Negativity is a part of life, but we must not let it rule our mind, our self.

So, take a break from your daily schedule, and do something which makes you, and the people around you peaceful. Nothing beats an evening walk! As for happiness, that will come naturally. You might find bliss by looking into someone’s eyes, watching children play, listening to a long forgotten song, going on an unplanned trip, listening birds chirp in the morning- and a zillion other things! Just be yourself, smile, and remember that:

“Happiness is real only when it is shared.”