JOY OF LIVING: 2ND PLACE CREATIVE WRITING

                         

“Life is all about living” we may have heard this quote in various forms. But what is living all about? These days, living only means mere subsistence. Existing, breathing for the heck of it: laughing because its “appropriate”, talking because its “required”…Do we do anything at all, because “WE” want do it for “OURSELVES”? All our actions and reactions somehow are adhering to the social norms- what the whole world feels is right. Amidst all the stress and all the tension, we simply have forgotten that there is more to life than just respiring, working, eating and sleeping (of course, the last one is a luxury, more than a need).

Happiness is the fundamental right of everyday- every single living thing. Everyone deserves to be happy, but the sad truth is that happiness- real happiness is often confounded with materialistic, momentary joy.

We don’t need an exotic holiday at Macau or a vacation spent fishing in Caribbean islands to be happy. We can relax on our own bed, take a break from all the work (and studies) with a good book, some great music, a bag of chips and a bottle of soda and still be happy. 

Sometimes eating corn on the roadside with our loved ones is more satisfying than a dinner with people you ‘need’ to know, in the most ‘happening’ restaurant. Little things in life may not seem so important to us now, but one day, when we look back, we shall realize that those were the big things. We must learn how to live life without regrets, for regrets have this nasty habit of ruining the pleasure of the moment.

As my brother once told me, “ Life is not about wanting to arrive at your grave in a well presented body, but it is about arriving there with scratches, cuts and bruises all over you; yet with a smile that says that you have “lived” your life and are proud of your scars. “If we truly want to be happy, we must accept ourselves for who we really are- with our flaws. We must also learn how to accept other people’s flaws and realize that everybody is different and they don’t have to like or dislike the same thing as we do. We have to know that it is alright if someone doesn’t like us; after all, its not like we love all the people who walk amidst us( I found this in a book and it made so much sense that I felt I had to put it down)! As the writer I’m so in awe of, Fyodor Dostoevsky stated, “To love someone means to see him the way God intends us to.” It simply means accepting people for who they really are!

Poet Albert Camus wrote, “In the dead of winter I realize, that within me is an invincible summer.” We really are strong, strong enough to set out on the quest for happiness and battle any hurdle that we may encounter. But a simple thing we forget is to enjoy the journey, savoring every moment of it, appreciating the mistakes we make along the way for what they really are- precious lessons that had to be learned the hard way- loving people worth being with, taking chances, having fun! We are so caught up with our destination that we forget the journey!

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s all about dancing in the rain.”

 We cannot simply sit huddled in a corner whining endlessly about the various torments we had to endure or will have to endure. I mean, LIFE IS TOO DAMN SHORT FOR THAT! If we want to be happy, we must learn to let go our inhibitions and remember that happy times will soon come! We must know that every problem comes with a solution and that the problems will pass.

“The happiest people aren’t the ones who get the best of everything. They are the ones who make the best of everything,” says my brother. Everything in life will not go as per our wishes; anything that can go wrong will go wrong. We must know not freak out and mope, but simply do the next best thing! Life is simple indeed but we complicate it and put up wrong directions on the highway to happiness (highways are always straight and simple) and turn the whole voyage into hide-and-seek through an endless maze! Happiness is within us and we look everywhere but inside our own selves!

In the end, “It’s not the years in your life that counts, but the life in your years!”

Meghana Kiran