Happiness is ....
In my last post on Happiness I wrote about how we live in times when our happiness has come to depend on external factors. I have often found myself anticipating, I will be happy when I get that promotion. I will be happy when I get my new car/ jewellery/ dress. I will be happy when we take that most awaited trip to Europe. However, when we get to that thing/ object, we don’t enjoy that moment. We don’t seem to be happy, as we start eyeing the next goal. And it never ends….there is always that next thing/ target/ goal we lookout for. All Self-help/ personal coaches would tell you that if you are depending on others or external things to give you happiness, you are bound to be disappointed.
Referring again to TED talk by Susanna Halonen, she explains happiness is not a destination it’s a journey, its not a chase but everyday choice. It’s a same feeling when you as a child felt happy for no particular reason. When I look at my girls, they come back from school and talk about certain activity they enjoyed doing with their friends. I can feel joy in their voice. When I see them playing with their dolls or riding their bikes, there is a happiness in the air. And I think why I can’t be like that…. I have come to realise that it stems from being in the moment. When you are focused on the task/ activity in front of you, it takes away your attention from your doubts, to do list, and what’s happening around you.
Now when I look back at my childhood, and remember what gave me joy, when did I feel happy? It was always the moment when I was doing/making art. When I attended drawing class, made sketches, paintings at home, I felt content. I was in my own little world. When I handmade greeting cards for my friends and family there was excitement. I remember feeling eagerness weeks before Diwali, when I would get busy making greeting cards. Then I would visit family and friend handing them Diwali wishes. There was so much enjoyment in my soul. Then it would be making Rangoli in our front yard with my mum and sister. Days before, I would be drawing designs on paper, making colour combinations, and then shopping for colours. It was my favourite time of the year. It was when I was living in that moment every time I made something. It felt intrinsically rewarding.
Crafting happiness
Somewhere between now and then, ‘life happened’. And living by goals/targets became a thing, and in that probably lost my way to happiness. When I started this blog, the intention was to find that “Lost Road” . I have been away from things that were a part of me, those made me happy and those that made me who I am. But in recent times, I found myself moved away from them. Slowly, but steadily I am trying to find that part of me again…..thus making it my way of life.
Couple of weeks back, while cleaning my craft boxes, girls found a bag full of quilling paper. Let me tell you, I am a hoarder of craft supplies, in anticipation that one day, I will use it. This led to my interrogation as to what did I do with these. So I let them into a piece of me, sharing my Shri Creations Facebook page. Looking at all the quilling art pieces, they wanted to try some for themselves. Just sharing the stories with them, going through all the stash of things and teaching them the techniques was an happy experience in itself.
Rakhi was just around the corner. For those who don’t know, Rakhi is a festival, celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu month of Shravana, is celebration of love and affection between sister and brother. So we decided to make Rakhi’s (a sacred thread) for their cousin brothers. For the next few days, coming home after school, they were excited to do paper quilling with me. Even I looked forward to this time, as it was a reminisce of my own childhood times, when I used to make them. It was such a joyful time of passion, beauty and excitement. We felt completely immersed in what we were working on—losing sense of how much time had passed. Even the girls slept way past their bed times on some occasions.
I saw a ‘being in moment’ of the girls. They were not so much interested in the end product, but just loved the way it felt, quilling paper, cutting thread and sticking beads. It was a reminder that the process is more important then the product. They were not concerned what the end product was going to look like. And it dawned on me that this whole progression was similar to what happiness is… a journey not a destination. Its about experiencing, exploring and discovering. In same way as the girls were being creative, exploring, for their own enjoyment/ happiness. It was not about ‘getting it right’ or a finished masterpiece ‘ Rakhi’. It taught me a lesson to focus on process over product, focus on journey , enjoy the journey, be in the moment. I think this is another step towards being creative, being happy. . . . . .
#crafting #happiness #quilling #rakhi #rakshabandhan #happinessjourney #lifelessons #dailyinspiration #diyrakhi
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