Jan 13 Monday: Gratitude

1. Travel
I love to travel. The fact that I have made it to Cork for a weekend already and that I am heading home in a few weeks is a reminder how lucky I am to call two beautiful countries my home.

2. Friends
I caught up with some good old mates in the last while and some new ones- all in all, I am surrounded by some lovely people!

3. Optimism
When things seem bleak, days seem dark, there is hope- sometimes in the form of a coffee, sometimes an email but always hope!

Sep 30 Monday: Gratitude

1. Optimism
When things look tough, it is good to be able to remain optimistic.

2. Meditation
If you haven’t tried it, please do. NOW. Honestly, one of the best things ever!

3. Working smart
I may not work 80 hours a week but I definitely do get that much work done regularly- I hope I can keep that energy up!

And so begins 2013…

… a new adventure
… some new excitement
… a better year- well, it really can’t get worse than the last!

And what better way to capture it than a facebook status I saw!

Dear 2012- thanks for all the lessons, the joys, the downs, the hope, the darkness and the memories- good & bad, but it seems, we were at an impasse and not going anywhere so here’s to us parting ways. I am sorry I met another year- it’s called 2013 and it promises to be full of promise, optimism, results and achievements!

Happy happy people!

Apparently there are 15 things happy people do differently:

I know I am an eternal optimist, even if currently, my foundation has been slightly shaken, and so I am can’t help but evaluate each one of these- ‘cos after all, I like to believe, I am one of the happiest people around (at least in my own bubble ;))

1. I definitely have a lot of fear in me- the fear of so many things- the fear of letting my mother down, the fear of not achieving certain things I want to achieve, the fear of hurting people I care about yet I have a lot of love for the people around me- almost everything I do is motivated by love
2. I have learnt to not worry about things I can’t change and I suppose, in my own way, I define this as acceptance
3. I can forgive easy peasy- but I rarely forget and I know this is a huge thing but so far, I haven’t succeeded 😦 Someday I hope to learn
4. I trust those I really trust and once I trust, I am an open book unless I find reasons to not trust- the levels of trust may vary based on other circumstances too but for the most part, I only trust a very small circle of people- I believe in self preservation- I am not sure I have the energy and strength to go through the pain of being back stabbed ever again in my life
5. I am very ambitious- to me, my ambition is driven by the meaning it brings to my life so in this instance I am not sure of the difference between these two- to me, they are almost the same thing
6. I usually praise more than I criticise. I also realise I expect of others the same levels I expect of me- not a good thing, ‘cos I am setting myself up for failure- no one else. I need to stop finding the small things that bug me and truly enjoy the small things that make me smile- like a hug from my niece Anarkalli
7. I love challenges, I thrive on them- my current challenge is dealing with all the challenges that I am facing together
8. I am definitely not the most selfless person around but then I can’t think of anyone who is completely selfless- everything is driven by some sense of want or need and doesn’t that inherently mean some level of selfishness?
9. Despite my meagre income currently, I am abundantly surrounded by the love, laughter, friends that I really need- if my trip to India was anything to go by, I have learnt even more how lucky I truly am
10. Who defines our reality?! This is a discussion Roark and I seem to be having on a very regular basis these days as we both try to define our reality as a potential couple but yeah, in the meantime let’s keep dreaming
11. I believe I am considerate and this is my way of showing kindness- I may not give the homeless food but I like to believe I always have a nice word for the people I come across
12. I am very grateful for a lot of the things I have in my life- even if I do take some things for granted every so often! Thank you dear universe, once again, for all that I have- especially, my health- the past few scares have been well, very scary
13. I don’t always succeed in this instance- I often go too many steps forward in my own head, I go off tangents, I analyse the past, I think of all the potentials in the future and yeah, often I do enjoy the moment but at the moment, I am truly failing at this one
14. I am an optimist- no doubt here!
15. I do tend to blame (more often something within my myself than not) but still there is room for improvement here

Wow- if I make the changes I obviously can, I wonder how I will handle all this happiness! Hopefully, I will manage to improve on my weaknesses and spread more happiness, smiles and laughs in the world…

And I personally think, happier people hug more- they like hugs, they like showing the people around them they care and after all, hugs are therapeutic!
Here is another article re 15 things to give up to be happy– not sure I completely agree on all of them either but that’s for another day!

Dating a Girl

Men tend to make a big deal of dating a girl… I understand why- we are complicated creatures. However, deep down inside, I suspect, we all want exactly the same thing from our partners- love, respect, trust, loyalty, honesty- we just portray it differently.

To men, strength is in being the protective one. Apparently our strength is in showing our vulnerability– duh, that’s obviously what I am doing wrong And there are many other such rules- I for one, am oblivious to them- I make my own, I follow my own and together, i create whatever works for the guy I am with and myself. It has obviously not worked so far, in as much, that I don’t have “the one” but it has worked in terms of making me the person I am today, giving me the belief I need and letting me grow the way I want to.

However, the other day I came across a picture and it caused me much amusement:

Usually not one to believe such statements, this one actually sits uncomfortably close to the truth- the more I like someone, the more I ignore them- especially if I am really close to them. It’s partly a self protective mechanism for myself because when it comes to love, I am not the biggest risk taker!

And then, I was assailed with doubts (‘cos we know how my belief has taken a knock over the last while) and came across this:

There is a lot of truth in the old adage “All’s well that end’s well”. And so on that hopeful and optimistic note, goodnight! 🙂

PS I love this post about why one should women who travel– geeky, travel crazy, gorgeous, friendly, successful- no wonder I intimidate men 😉 hehehe, will the real men please stand up and introduce themselves?!

Happy happy!

Today, I feel happy, excited, slightly delirious, nervous and a mix of emotions never before.

And so I urge, everyone to follow this advice, ‘cos it ROCKS!

Go, up and go- somewhere you have never been- what I am feeling right now is a sense of optimism and excitement like never before- the turn in my life is just AWESOME. Told you, 2012 was gonna be awesomely special!

Scream & wring

I wanna scream, I wanna wring a few necks, I wanna make a lot of changes and I feel I can’t. I want out.

Thank god for Rower- he is an absolute darling and it was really good to have him available for a long chat today. He is really kinda cute 😉

And there is no thought of the day that makes me feel better today but this one made me smile and I hope, eventually, I will look at the brighter side of things!