os.me Digest: The Happiest Day of My Life

In the closing episode of Maid, Alex is living the happiest day of her life. 

Earlier, she was seen organising a writing exercise with her therapy group where everyone was encouraged to share the happiest day of their life. If it hadn’t happened yet, she told them to jot down how they envisioned it. 

Watching her live her happiest day as she had pictured it was truly satisfying for this viewer. But the Netflix show or its story is not the point. It prompted me to think about what mine would look like

What is my happiest day? Or am I yet to live it? 

As I reflected upon the question, I contemplated my situation. I am on holiday. My parents are in the interconnecting room. The giggles of my kids fill my room as they play with their grandparents. I had just had a lovely video call with my husband, who couldn’t join us because of business commitments. There is no rush. There is no stress. Only Swamiji’s grace. My mind is not plagued by the past or anxious about the future. I am in a cosy hotel room. 

Even if I don’t realise it, I am living the happiest day of my life. 

One time, I saw myself lounging with books and living in the super-slow lane with my husband and kids close. The past year was about living that idea of the happiest day. Thank you, pandemic! 

A moment of sudden and great revelation occurred. We are always living the happiest day of our lives, we may not realise it though. For once we start living it, we begin chasing another romanticised idea of what that day looks like. Worse, we focus on the tiny chink with our entirety and miss out on the beauty. 

According to the researchers behind the Harvard Study of Adult Development — one of the longest-running studies on happiness (81 years and ongoing) — knowing when to let go, engaging in a past-time one loves, and staying connected to close relationships make one happier.

Today, I urge you to jot down your idea of the happiest day of your life. Chances are, you are already living it. If you stopped focussing on what you have not, you’d see you have got a lot. However, if you find it difficult to cope or have depression, seek expert advice.  

Here’s a pick of happy days gleaned from os.me reads.

What is my happiest day? Or am I yet to live it? tell a friend

Transformative Ideas

The 5 Ingredients to Fulfil a Dream: A fulfilled dream is happiness. Spanish author Francesc Miralles, who wrote Ikigai, surely knows the recipe of a happy, realised dream. @francesc also shares his idea of the happiest day. Read it to cook your dream and relish it too!

The Exploding Frog: It is better to be a good man than be a big one. The day you realise that would be one of the happiest days of your life, suggests Madhavendu Das. @madhavendu explains with a fable that strikes a chord at a spiritual level.

Nani, Bollywood, and Parenting: Bollywood might sell some soppy ideas about ‘the happiest day’. Deepali P ain’t buying any of that. Sometimes a happy day is made up of warm memories of Granny’s quirks and the realisation that your kids have the same dislikes as she had. @deepalip presents a delicious slice of her life.

To Love or To Be Love: To be happy, “all you need is to accept the outside world and your inner universe the way it is, and focus on something you love”, writes Priyank Adhiya. @priyank-adhiya finds Buddha in the traffic jam.

A Death and the Blessing it Contained: Pulkit Baheti traces one of the happiest days to his childhood. It was when his great-grandfather died. That evening, a group of Sanyasis sang bhajans and kirtans and left the five-year-old boy mesmerised for life. In those moments, @pulkitbaheti found an anchor…

Why The Heart Leans A Certain Way: The heart “could do/ without cheap/ souvenirs from the/ past and trinkety/ promises of the/ future, that are/ nothing but junks”, writes Rohinee as she packs a punch in this verse. A happy day could look like living in the present with courage, gratitude, and grace. @rohinee pens the beautiful truth.

Love and Laddu: Not just devouring a laddu, making it could be a joy too. Surekha Chandrasekhar shares the recipe of delish pink laddus in this evocative article that builds a strong case for self-love. After all, loving the self is the highest act of love. The day you learn to make some for yourself could be your happiest day. @surekha is here to help!

सबसे सुंदर क्षण: हमारे जीवन में सुंदर क्षण, ईश्वर की इच्छा पर नही बल्कि हमारी इच्छा पर निर्भर करते हैं (Our life’s beautiful moments are not at God’s mercy but our own), says Sadhvi Shraddha Om. @sadhvi’s latest episode of her popular ongoing Tandav series brings home the point.

Spiritual leader Om Swami writes on the third dimension to help rise above worries. Discover the true meaning of amor fati.  tell a friend

Wisdom From Swamiji

How to Be Happy: The pursuit of happiness seems never-ending. But here’s expert help. Spiritual leader Om Swami introduces the three wheels of happiness with three golden questions for eternal happiness. Stop chasing happiness, start living your happiest life.

Life Beyond Worries: Aren’t you tired of going through life like Gorky’s crow? Swamiji writes on the third dimension to help rise above worries. Discover the true meaning of amor fati. 

Watch This Now!

Quote of the Week

Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly ~~Ivan Turgenev

हमारे जीवन में सुंदर क्षण, ईश्वर की इच्छा पर नही बल्कि हमारी इच्छा पर निर्भर करते हैं  tell a friend

Now, if you are looking for ways to be unhappy, I have a few suggestions for that too. Compare, envy, and chase the idea of happiness projected by others.

What is your happiest day? If it hasn’t come yet, what would it be?

Winners of The Write Choice

An elephant on a tree could be a metaphor for so many things. For instance, it could be me sitting at a distance, reading every participating post with a degree of detachment, and soaking up all the wisdom. It could also be Inner Action of absorbing all the knowledge, or the Inaction sitting heavy on the conscience, or symbolic of one’s Spiritual Journey, or Molly’s Tough Love, a Call to Explore True Self. It could represent a win when you rise above and Break Free of your fears. 

I was thrilled to read you interpret it in a whole heap of ways than I imagined! Congratulations to everyone who participated, every blog added value to our life. While everyone is a winner, we must do what we promised to do — announce two winners. But first, let me answer Divya Pai’s question: How did the elephant climb up the tree? Well, it sat on the seed and waited for it to grow into a tree. Patience pays, you know it, Divya.

Without further ado, the winners are: The Withered Flower by Gauri Keskar, and A Surreal Win by Divya Vanshika. 

Gauri’s poem beautifully captures the inner conflict of a seeker — the yearning of the flower of the heart for its Master’s feet and the nervousness before the leap of faith. The elephant is the flower on a forest tree feeling torn in the face of the turmoil. 

Divya’s Surreal Win is a relatable story. We have all felt odd in the crowd at some point in time. Sometimes the fear sits heavy like an elephant on our shaky confidence. Yet, the personal story is a reassurance that when you overtake the fright of the unknown, you win in life. 

Congratulations to you all, once again! Now, if you wish, we could have one more winner. If there is a story that you really liked, go ahead, post the link below. The link with the maximum number of likes is also a winner. Dearest community members, you decide who it is… The count will be taken at 11:55 am on Oct 21 (tomorrow), so propose and vote well. In case there aren’t any entries, there will be no winners in this category. Good luck! 

Until next…

PS: The post was updated at 5:00 pm with the names of the winners of the Write Choice Challenge.