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gopimenon May 14th, 2010

Hi There,

Today, after a long delay and much procrastination, I finally managed to finish an article I had been thinking of completing to submit to an ezine!  And when I finished it I had a new burst of enthusiasm, a renewal of energy.  I was so elated – I could not believe how happy I felt!

I realized then that this could well be a great Happy Living Tip.

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Happy Living Tip #9: Complete a Long Delayed Task or Chore!

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Just go ahead and finish something you have begun and wanted to complete, but have been procrastinating.

It does not matter how simple a task it is:

• perhaps you have been wanting to clear your work desk of all the clutter
• perhaps you need to replace a hinge for your cabinet door
• perhaps you just need to run an errand for your spouse, but have kept forgetting and postponing the task.

Whatever it is (no matter how mundane), when you get down to doing it and completing it, you will be rewarded with a joy that is totally out of proportion to the task you just performed!

I am sure that you too must have had this feeling of exuberance, satisfaction and joy when you finally get down to it and complete a project or a job or even a chore.

This task you know you should complete would have been sitting at the back of your mind and niggling away constantly, bothering you to take some action.  It may not have been uncomfortable enough to make you take action at once, but it would be irritating enough to keep you from enjoying your other activities.

Speaking of procrastination, it sounds like a disease and I guess it is in a way.  Here is a Powerpoint presentation that explains it in detail.  I enjoyed these slides on ‘Taming Procrastination’ by Mary McD at http://www.slideshare.net/marymcd/taming-procrastination

Coincidentally, today I also came across this unique site dedicated to this problem of Time Management, with an interesting title – Think TQ,  where TQ stands for Time Quotient!  I was impressed enough by this site to put their TQ Daily on my website.  You can check it out on the right sidebar if you like.

Cheers.  Expect happiness!

• happy living
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gopimenon May 10th, 2010

In earlier posts I have mentioned that feeling gratitude is one of the ways to remain happy.

The question that then comes up is this: “How can I show gratitude to my Creator?” “Is it by making offerings of flowers, fruits, candles etc, or by observing penances, or fasting…?”

Personally I feel that an easy way to show gratitude to God is by looking at everything we find in creation with wonder and amazement! For example:

• When we see a flower and enjoy its very presence and wonder at the magic of life that creates such colors and aromas from the dark and dank earth that the plant is growing in – then we are showing gratitude!
• When we see a baby and wonder in amazement at its mental and physical growth, then we are being grateful.
• When we see an ice cube float in a glass and wonder at how the solid ice can be lighter than the water, then we are showing gratitude. (See my earlier post on Happy Living Tip #5 )
• Etc.

I call these little things ‘daily miracles’.  If we would stop taking all these daily miracles for granted and appreciate them as wonderful, then we are showing gratitude to the Creator!

Just two days ago I had an occasion to experience this wonder with my one-year old grand-daughter, Hiranya:

We had been teaching her about the various parts of the body and she was learning fast – she could point out without fail her eyes, head, ears , hair etc. in a very cute manner.   We had also shown her to touch her chest when we asked her: “Where is Hiranya?”

The other day, when she was leaning her head on her Father’s shoulder while being carried, I asked her “Where is Hiranya?” and without hesitation (or raising her head from her dad’s shoulder) she just patted her rump in answer!  I was surprised to say the least.  This may not seem like much at first sight but to me it showed how fast her brain was growing.

You see, she could already differentiate the various parts of her body and would point to her rump when asked “Where is Hiranya’s bum-bum?”  So she was not making any mistake – she was actually answering my question .    She patted herself on her rump in answer to the question “Where is Hiranya?” instead of moving away from her dad’s shoulder and touching her chest because it was easier and more convenient for her to do!

Her brain had started synthesizing information; she now had an awareness of herself as an entity – the baby Hiranya!  She knew that her rump was also part of Hiranya the baby girl!  She knew the difference between her ‘ego’ and her ‘body’ – isn’t that marvelous?

How can I be confident that she had not just made a mistake?  Later when she was sitting on the floor and playing with her toys, I asked her again “Where is Hiranya?”  and she unhesitatingly touched her chest with her palm!

To me, observing little daily miracles like these and expressing my appreciation is one of the best ways of showing my gratitude to the Creator and to this Life!

Try it!  Instead of taking everything good in life for granted, and making a fuss about the bad, just reverse it.  Accept the bad things as just events that happen and appreciate the good things with wonder and amazement!  This will make happy living so much easier.

• gratitude , happy living
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