I Dream Of Smiling
Appreciating Life In Turbulent Times
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“He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.” — Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love In The Time of Cholera
It may be hard to see a silver lining in a cloud for two reasons. Either the sky is too dark for your vision to see the bright border and you miss it or your mind is trained to focus on the darkness. We live in a world where the latter is more likely. In fact, even if the sky is clear, we think there are clouds forming. In an age where almost 90% of news or media you consume is negative, it is easy to forget to appreciate the finer things in life like the ocean that ceaselessly soothes your mind or the children that are oblivious of negativity and filled with hope.This short article reminds readers that happiness is a choice and that it is important to not forget to look at the beauty around you when every bit of sensory input (mostly through media) is amplifying the darkness.
Why Now?
This is a story about a conversation I had with a close friend two years ago who said “don’t watch the news unless it’s about your neighborhood burning”. She said one of the secrets to her healthy lifestyle is not watching news. I smiled courteously and replied it would be almost impossible for me to do so. I am a cog in the wheels of a knowledge economy and by extension, knowledge is my stock in trade.
Fast forward to yesterday. I was having dinner with a group of friends and all I could hear about was how the world was becoming an increasingly inhuman place. It might sound like a familiar conversation to many and that’s because it is. It’s not difficult to remember the last time you, your family and/or your friends were discussing natural disasters, political events, terror strikes, financial crises, accidents and countless other anecdotes reminiscent of turbulent times. However, when was the last time you remember uninhibited laughter or tasting the great flavor in your food, appreciating…
