WHERE AM I SEARCHING FOR MY HAPPINESS?

 


“One of the keys to our happiness is bad memory.”

Rita Mae Brown

 

Almost all the viral videos become so viral, because, someone simply shoots them without stressing out, and uploads them without expecting anything in return. Ask anyone, whose videos have gone insanely viral, and you will see a simple, joyful heart behind it!

On the other hand, if I write something or create a piece of art and attempt to make it viral, it mostly doesn’t even take off!

The best things in life are simply spontaneous… Unplanned and done with no expectations. I am sure, many of us have come across this video, lately:

 

 

Then, someone added these rustic beats and made it even more heart-warming!


 

“With mirth and laughter, let old wrinkles come.” This is what William Shakespeare tells us through ‘The Merchant of Venice’.

Well, I think, our old wrinkles come not through mirth and laughter alone; the sorrows and anxieties, too, pave way for them!

 

When 2019 was about to end, Barack Obama shared the list of 20 songs that he had loved immensely in 2019 and recommended them to his fans. I was one these fans. Obama had mentioned a song by the title ‘Cold/Mess’ by an Indian singer by the name, Prateek Kuhad. I learnt about it through this interview:



It has, always, been a mystery to me as to why some of the greatest songs – lyrics and music, both – are about heartbreak! Hear Prateek sing – ‘My heart is a mess’! And, imagine, it strikes a chord in you, me and even Barack Obama!

Pain, sorrow, anxiety, fear – yes, all of these very much exist in Life. When we recognize their presence – this ‘Cold Mess’ – it becomes easy for us to deal with them. A person like me writes about them through his Blogs… A person like Prateek sings about them through his songs…

But, hiding this ‘mess’ only makes Life rot! 



Deepa* is mother of one of my students. Some two years ago, she and her family went through a prolonged period of ‘cold mess’… Her husband had finally lost his battle to bone-marrow cancer! Deepa, who was a house wife till then, had two young girls at home and, suddenly, felt the ground beneath her feet caving!

But, after two years, the ground hasn’t caved in, yet! This is something about Life which is so glorious – The Phoenix has been preloaded in every soul… We all are, by default, able to rise from our cold ashes…

Yes, if we recognize this truth, that, Life, despite its ‘Mess’, can still become a Prateek’s song or that little Sardarjee’s bhangra dance…

Incidentally, Deepa shared with me this just-released song about mental health… “You can see my mom and kids in this video,” she wrote…




Then, she asked me this: “Did you notice they saying ‘Happi-mess’?

 

*Name changed

 


 GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic's: pixabay

 

Videos:  1. Daily Trending Explain 2 Man 3 Media

              3. NDTV 4. Fiama

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