cheeeeese
Dear,
Right before the school inspection, I was made the class leader of 1-C. Every time, my class teacher Jayshree ma’am meets my mothership, she recites this tale of crowning me with this covetous position. She goes on to state: “Aachie smiled and smiled a lot in class and for any evaluator coming to the first grade, the glee on the kid’s face is a major metric, hence”. Now, this doesn’t mean I didn’t cry at all. In fact, I am also commemorated as a crybaby. I teared up every now and then, for reasons and no reason. Still do. But at the speed of light, my pumpkin face always found a smile again.
In college, I have also gotten into trouble because of this same smiling face. People, even teachers have questioned me whether I was laughing at them. I remember apologizing and even reiterating quite a few times that this was my default setting.
I didn’t need a reason to be happy then, to smile. It was second nature.
But over time, I have realised that adulting does rob your smile. I look around and find people frowning more than smiling. Well, to be fair, never-ending chores do make you grumpy. Something or the other pops up sporadically. You have to attend to every section of your life: professional, personal, financial, or spiritual before it derails. Then, there are also those days when it almost feels like your head is the earth’s axis and is rotating on you. So it’s easier to do a frustrated “ahhhhhh” than a gleeful “eeeee”
Well, having said that, it just doesn’t mean you live a poker-faced life mindlessly thinking of every goal and deadline you have to meet. Most of us take the advice “become serious in life. grow up!” quite literally. We let our anxieties for a better tomorrow rob us off our present joys. We confuse child-like with childish. We abandon our playful mind. We always run inside the thought and often miss out experiencing.
Life is already hard, there is a handful of pain at all times and its fleeting too. Someday, you will get there. Someday, everything will fall into place. May be or may be not. But do we really have to hammer our brains creating plans and mind map? Do we really have to replay the worst case scenario over and over again? Do we really have to dread our individual paths? Do we really have to lose our sleep over something that isn’t in our control? Most importantly, do we really have to abandon today’s smiles for an unknown?
Picture Credits : Ottokim
My dear,
Loosen up a little?
Laugh. Laugh often. Find joy in the mundane.
Chase it.
Relax a bit.
Rest often.
And smile, please? A life without it is just not satisfying or worth it.
My favourite singer Ali Sethi says, “Thoda easy ho jaaye” and here are a few things that made me feel at ease/helped me smiled last week :
Stumbling on a song I stopped listening to ten years ago. A close friend telling me, “I am here to make life less miserable”. Nyla running down the stairs to catch a glimpse of me before I left for work. An old friend’s message.A barista telling me that he remembers seeing me at a cafe he last worked. A junior’s PhD open defense. Revisiting my 2021 journal. Finishing a pure strength superset. Best friend sending me pictures of flowers I love. Taking five deep breaths everyday. Playing an old voice note. Eating yum dosa. Scrolling through the pictures of a squirrel I took last week. Reading an old student’s message saying “God bless you”. Thinking of Acha. Waving at a familiar face in Saravanabhavan. PhD convocation. Making a new playlist and naming it “Chasing joy”. Running with Nyla. Dancing to another playlist called “Aachieo Dance”. Taking quiet walks. Recollecting these.
Tell me about the things that made you smile.
Until next week
Love,
Aachieo
Say cheeeeese!
Smile often, please ?
~~~
Now, time for some goodies to retain that beautiful smile.