2012 : Happy Endings

‎"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story."  - Orson Welles

Crack open the champagne! The world didn't end as predicted and a new year has arrived! Time to start  a new cycle of your ongoing awesomeness. For me it came with these four attributes - 

a) be insanely happy, even when you are sad

b) never be scared of the challenges life throws your way

c) be brave, and take risks.

d) stop looking for validation, it makes us weak

The rest comes easy. 

So in my last blog post for 2012, I am going to talk about them and all that jazz.  Shit happens, sabki life mein... but does that mean we should stop being happy? Nahin na. If this year did not go as you expected, and now that you are sad and possibly feeling lonely, just pause a moment. Rewind. Go back to your happiest memory, whenever wherever or whoever it was with. How happy you look! If life gave you such a moment in the past, life will definitely bring you more such moments in the future. Happiness is relative state of mind, just because we don't feel it now, doesn't mean we will never feel it again. The trick is very simple : Ask and you shall receive. When, where and how will that happen? Don't ask me or anyone else (not even your family astrologer), just let life come to you and unfold the joy it has in store for you.

After all, life has many ways of testing a person's will - either by nothing happen at all, or by having everything happen all at once. I bet we all have have faced such situations.  One moment you are at the top of the world, and the next moment your entire world starts crumbling down. But this is the test of life. When you least expect it, life gives us a new challenge to test our courage and willingness to change. I have asked myself many times as to why we need to go through such test/challenge is given. The only answer I ever got was to prove that we are worthy enough for the good times that soon follow. As ironical as it could get, without the bad times we are incapable of truly appreciating the good times in our lives. 

And what we usually perceive to be "bad things happening to us" could be actually good stuff, only momentarily hidden. Often, its the fear of the unknown makes us fudge-brained to clearly see the truth. Whatever it is kid, if its still in your mind, its worth taking a risk! (Not talking about life threatening red-bull event stunts here.)  Rather fall 7 times and get up 8 times, than do nothing at all. Because one day you will wake up and there won't be any time left to do things you always wanted. The choice is always ours. Obstacles will always be there. We can either knock them down and go for what our crazy heart wants, or we give up at the sight of trouble. There is no right way to this. Its purely your free will to choose what is right for you. But to believe that our life is controlled by fate, is the world's biggest lie.

Now you may ask what gives me the authority to razzle-dazzle you with all the above fundas. I am neither a writer nor am I a life-coach. What I am, is another human who felt what most of you have gone through. Often my friends think I lead a life that makes me pleased as the Sunday punch. But its not true. There were times when I have hold myself tight and cried till I could cry no more. But there were also times when I laughed so hard that I couldn't stand anymore. Both at the extremes, but both makes me a human and I am not ashamed to admit them. When I look back at 2012, I don't think I have any regrets. Yes, I made mistakes and had disappointments along the way, but I would not have done it any other way. What I did at that time, for that place, I did the best with what my instincts provided me. Regret comes only when we look around for validation from the other people. Might sound foolish to many, I have often given into the Woody Allen “the-heart-wants-what-the-heart-wants”. Of course that take me endless hours of "interfrention", self debate and oodles of bad mood, to actually learn from these experiences. But I would rather crash-and-burn in the process of feeding my soul, than live my whole life in denial. Honestly, I want to approach life like a fine meal -- with relish, great anticipation, and a discriminating palate to make it a perfect experience overall.

So come 2013, I am more hopeful than ever before for the exciting future that lies ahead. Infact I feel like Bilbo Baggins running through the fields of the Shire, shouting - "I'm going on an adventure!"

So peopleee--push the envelope this year, raise your bar and go for the biggest stakes that your loyal heart can fathom. Have an adventurous 2013!