Gratitude journal…

The latest issue of TIME has a feature on happiness. Supposedly Western science has dedicated a lot of time and effort to finding out causes of depression, stress, how to get rid of negative emotions and like. Barely any work has been done on the powerful effects of happiness. It is now that psychiatrists and medical practitioners are sitting up and taking note of ALL that happiness can do for you. In a nutshell, happiness can keep your cancer from killing you. It can increase your life span, improve your relationships, make you a healthier (and happier!) person. The feature talks about influence of marriage, pets, friends, etc. on your happiness. It elaborates on how the human evolutionary cycle is designed such that beyond a certain point, material pleasures CANNOT bring you happiness. It also talks about how happiness is an integral part of the entire survival process. Oh, you guys must read it. And it also mentions that all these facts were no secret to the Eastern civilizations though it comes as news to the Western world.
Keeping a *gratitude journal* is something a certain California psychologist advises as a practical resource to leading a happier life. Simply put, it means counting your blessings. I believe that birthdays are good occasions to count your blessings as are those simply awful days when you feel the world is on top of you. Nevertheless, I count my blessings.

1. Mom’n’Dad: The coolest set of parents anyone could have, Hip Hip Hooray! Cool in the sense teens use the word these days, Mummy is the most sensible person I’ve ever met. She is calm, never mopes or frets, lives in the present moment and is always game for anything. She has more enthusiasm and energy in her little finger than Geetu and me together have in our entire bodies! She is amazingly generous and large-hearted. Daddy is the brainiest person I’ve ever met. He is super-intelligent, logical, rational, blah blah… and surprisingly sentimental (he cries during Mallu films!). He is nearly 40 years older than me/Geetu and has a full head of grey hair. Inspite of many people asking me if the grey-haired man is my Granddad, the truth stays that Daddy is cooler than most people in his own generation! The best part is how MUCh they trust Geetu and me to do the right thing and take the right decision.

2. Geetu: My sis and my first baby, Geetu is a year and a half younger than me. She and I went through the *sibling-comparison* mode but surprisingly, I never felt jealous of her. Outwardly we’re different, oh so different but I think that somewhere within both of us are a lot similar than we think. I think having a sibling is one of the nicest things to happen to you and Geetu is the sweetest gift I could have ever got. I have made peace with Mom and Dad’s absence but not being around Geetu is something I cannot make peace with.

3. Aces: My gang from junior college which includes lalunadiosa. Oh, the times we had! These guys have a large part to do with what I am today, I think, for better or worse! Dash it, I’ve missed the weddings, the b’days, the baby… Someday we’ll all be together, I hope! Couldn’t have had better pals at that time in my life…

4. Health: I’ve always been a very healthy person, touchwood. Thanks to the great genes, I never had to face the teenage nightmare of pimples, acne, frizz. etc. In fact, I got my pulse diagnosis done by an Ayurvedic physician recently and she told Pinch that I had a fabulous constitution. Good health… is there a bigger blessing?

4. Pinch: My totally undeserved blessing, I guess! I could never have found a nicer guy even if I’d gone out looking for one and this guy dropped right into my lap… or on to the cricket field, to be truthful! But that’s another story… Strangely enough, after meeting and knowing Pinch, I’ve been really lucky that I didn’t meet anyone else who measured up to any expectations that I had! After so many years, I’m yet to meet anyone as intelligent, sensitive, nice-looking, creative or funny as Pinch. Oops, shivshanker ranks a close second! My better half who’s infinitely a better person than I am and my largest blessing. Must have done something good sometime to get this one…

5. Art of Living: There was this one sour phase in my life. It was the lowest of lows for me and my self-worth had crumbled totally. I was hurting from inside and felt guilty for things I did, things I didn’t do. To cut a long story short, I stumbled onto AOL and since then, I’ve felt so good that I can’t express it. I’ve never felt this good, this happy… It’s a great state to be in. I count myself as one of the chosen ones simply b’cos AOL happened to me. I can’t ever express what it has done to me and how much it has made me happier.

I guess my entire life so far has been a blessing, in one form or the other. To be able to breathe, move around, think, laugh… Can there be anything more wonderful?