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February 24, 2010

Happiness

Right now, in every corner of the world, there are people crying, laughing, moaning and screaming. So many different actions to describe one state of mind, one feeling. Some have been trying to define it while others have been trying to experience it. Whatever it is they are trying to do, they all want it and they all need it.

Happiness used to be relatively easy, until it wasn't anymore. The wait is long and sometimes even painful, but that is exactly what makes the journey all the more worthwhile. A mother screams during labour, cries when it's out, and laughs when she holds her baby for the very first time. That funny little feeling she feels, that's happiness.

But there are many different kinds of happiness. Being happy, for instance, could also mean pleasure or satisfaction. A girl moans with tears in her eyes as she feels him penetrating her, thrusting it inside one more time. He kisses her lower lip, lies naked on his back looking up at the ceiling and smiles. She smiles too. And that funny little feeling they feel, well, that's happiness.

These moments of happiness are often random and unexpected. More random than the conversation you had with that stranger on your flight back home. More unexpected than the casual encounter that night on the beach. That funny little feeling you felt on both occasions, yes, that's..

Happiness. So hard to define yet so easy to comprehend.

You may not know this, but when it comes to happiness, there are four kinds of people in this world. There are those who are finding it, those who are losing it and those who are throwing it away. Yet there are also those who have never even tasted it, either because of their ridiculously high expectations or because life is just unfair. Whatever it is, if you fall under the last category, there is only one thing anyone can really say to you - get off your butt now and go look for it.

And don't come back until you find it.

February 16, 2010

Ignorance Is Bliss

You are born ignorant, immobile and speechless.

But then, somewhere along the way, you start talking and you start moving. You even acquire a three-digit-intelligence-quotient. People applaud every sound that comes out of your pretty little mouth. They clap for every move you make and they clap for every step up you take on the social ladder. And if you're lucky, you might even get that occasional standing ovation to get you through the day.

These people, they think that intelligence is bliss, that by knowing the earth-revolves-around-the-sun theory gives you a good reason to wake up in the morning. What they fail to understand is that sometimes you are better off not knowing. Because they don't know that the rabbit they had last Sunday for dinner used to eat his own feaces (but you do), and they don't know that their love crush is just a hormonal glitch (but you do), and they don't know that all you know is that they know nothing (courtesy of Socrates .. but you still do). With an overflowing brain, you knew, you know and you will keep on knowing, because whether you like it or not, that is exactly what you signed up for in the first place.

Yes, you are born ignorant, immobile and speechless. Twenty years later, you talk, you move and you are no longer ignorant. Whilst thankful for the first two sets of commands, you cannot help but wonder that maybe the ignorance you were born with twenty years ago was sheer bliss. Maybe not knowing is better, easier, simpler. Maybe. Or maybe not.

February 8, 2010

This Little Thing Called Life

Understanding it is not easy. Struggling through its grey areas is not either. But whether you like it or not, it's there, because someone somewhere went into a lot of trouble to give it to you - to give you this little thing called life that is now exclusively yours.

People do all sorts of things with their lives. Some are sitting, yawning and watching life go idly by, while others are grabbing it by the balls and squeezing them hard. Some are catching the next plane to heaven, while others are deciding to live in hell. Some are being dumped and others are moving on, some are losing and others are winning, some are stumbling and others are finding the strength to get back up.

You might be under the impression that your life is solely yours but this is where you're wrong. You laugh at the jokes others are telling, you endure the pain others are inflicting and you live the life, your life, that that someone somewhere has given you. And because s/he went into a lot of trouble to give it to you, you somehow feel the need to return the favour, even though you haven't got the slightest idea of what's going on.

Okay, so understanding life may not be the easiest thing in the world and struggling through it may not be what you bargained for, but whether you like it or not, it's there and you have one, and you can choose to keep on ignoring it or you can choose to start living it. In the end, you've only got two alternatives to choose from (a) opening the door, or, (b) closing the door. This decision, difficult as it may be, is the only thing that is really entirely yours. Just remember that you've got a fifty-fifty chance of doing it right (no pressure).

So .. tell me .. what's it gonna be?