Happiness advice under 3 minutes

"Life is too short. We have to be aware, where we spend our consciousness. I would rather read a poem, watch a hummingbird or take a nap than listening to shit news about Trump and Politics."

If you came to me as a dear old friend for advice about life, and happiness, above is one way I would put it into words. It is simple, it is applicable and it is profound if you think about it for a while. For few days and months for now, I have been feeling a calm happiness. Which wasn't there about two or three years ago. There was a time that I hoped the unhappy days would end and I would feel happy. I was waiting for some spontaneous miracle to happen and pray. Thing about miracles is they do not happen often and frequently enough, so was the case with mine. Like all the miracles were gone on vacation to far east, and my prayers for a happy day was delayed being answered month after month. Lucky for me, I never went into a phase of thought block. And I took tiny deliberate actions to spend a one hour in happiness. Following are a list of changes which happened over time. Tiny things mattered most.

Happiness this Way

I started to take a walk even when I did not feel like it, and noticed, the mind which did not like the thought of a walk would not remain same, during the walk. Most likely during the walk mind would start to like it, more than it imagined before.

I started to read books, again, novels, math books, anything and everything interesting. I did not have targets, reading books. I would do that for pure enjoyment. To satisfy the curiosity of my mind. To enrich the blog which I have started writing.

I started noticing people, who are able to interact with me, and not worry about things which are out of my reach. The sphere of our influence is constrained than we think. Although we can influence someone, far away from us by using modern methods of communication, the practical value of doing this is very low. I became more aware of the immediate influence range, and kind of accept, the things I cannot reach shall remain untouched.

I quit news, almost entirely. Unless they are big enough to come to me over some other means I would leave the news alone. And I started to forgive myself for enjoying a film. A good film was a place for me to feel warm, looking at emotions of human beings, although theatrical it may look, I would keep the feelings for future reference deep within me.

Last but not least, I learned there is a choice I can give to my consciousness. All these acts tend to have a nasty counterpart. When I turn on the TV, there would be news. And If I mindlessly act, it will consume a good part of the day. Instead, I would deliberately choose a boring task and enjoy doing it for a while, and when I am bored would jump to a different boring task. How boring it is to read a poem, or Moby Dick, while everyone else is watching a football match. Not at all! Both can be equally happy, if it was a deliberate choice and you are aware of the consequences, and if they align with your values.

If I package this into a take home message following would be the one.

"Deliberate choice of everyday tasks, by careful consideration of their outcomes, is one way someone can spend a happy hour."

So, what are you going to do in next hour?