CULTIVATE HAPPINESS!

 

CULTIVATE   HAPPINESS!

What is Cultivation?  Cultivation is the process involved in the growth of something.... anything!! From a small non-descriptive seed, if proper care and detailed procedure are followed, you will be able to cultivate an harvest. This is Nature at its best!! The seed will change its shape and size and grow into a sapling. It will bloom, increasing in size , branching out happily, giving out flowers and fruits. It will also provide shades to many as it becomes a sturdy seasoned tree!

'Cultivation of Happiness' is also similar. Happiness is a state of mind. It is upto you to decide if you want happiness in your life, or otherwise. If it is the former, when you look around, you will find good things and memorable moments, or share your concerns with someone who can help you find a solution. You are packed with action. On the other hand, if you are comfortable sitting put and fretting, you will end up worrying and feeling dissatisfied with everything around you. The CHOICE is yours!

Start your 'feeling happy' state of mind early morning as you wake up. Just before you get up from bed, open your eyes and feel 'thankful' that you are awake, alive and kicking! It is  God's will that you have life today. And it is your will to make it useful or not! Look around and smile, even if it is at nothing ☺. Your smile is a BIG 'thank you' for being awake and ready to start the day!  Rub your palms together and run them around your face. Let the positive energy pass on to your face, and from there on, to your body!Continue to smile as you fold your bedspreads and move on to other usual chores.

YOU decide to make your day  well. There can be incidents that will be hindrance to this principle. And you might feel bad at many stages on many days.... but that should not be the end of the world or the end of your zeal. Within you, your happiness will give you strength and courage, making you analyse situations and problems, help you find possible solutions. One such possibility will click and the testing time will stop. You will end up with a 'Never give-up' attitude. The worst will be over and the silver lining will be seen soon. Be positive! 

Happiness grows as happiness is shared! A sincere smile at someone you chance upon, and happy greeting to someone you meet, a 'good luck' wish to a young student, a pat on the back to an aspiring struggler, a finger to hold to a toddler wanting to walk.... At all these occasions, you are passing on your spirit of happiness to others, and sowing the happy seeds in their minds! Like how pollen from flowers are taken away for further growth elsewhere, your happy nudges will get planted in other minds and grow in leaps and bounds there too. 

A big, fully-grown tree gives shades to many who seek rest and solace under it. Similarly, as you become a seasoned 'happiness giver', you will find many who have benefited out of your sharing! 

So Cultivate Happiness, sow the seed now and reap the harvest for ever! Good Luck!!

© Shanta Ramakrishnan, Mumbai

15-January-2021