Happiness comes in small packages !

Usually we look for happiness in big things. We feel we would be happy if we had a bigger house/car or a better Job. We would be happy if we were married (or not married!)

We confuse happiness with the fulfilment of our desires. Happiness to us becomes something that we will get once we have all that we want. And if life doesn't go the way we want, we become sad and bitter and decide that it’s not our fate to be Happy!

Happiness doesn't come from big materialistic things. It comes from small everyday things that we usually forget to enjoy in our maddening pursuit of the “Bigger Things”!

For me happiness is the Methi Parantha my mother makes for breakfast, happiness is looking at the antics of the birds in on my veranda wall, happiness is a good book and a cup of coffee, happiness is people telling me they love my blog.
Happiness is also collecting the Parijat flowers during my early morning walks.

Parijat or Harsingar is a small white flower with a bright saffron stem. This extremely fragrant and delicate flower blossoms at night and drops as soon as the first ray of the sun falls on it. Somehow this pristine flower always has a very peaceful and tranquil effect on me.

There are a few Parijat trees in the park near my house and every morning the fallen flowers lie like glittering white jewels on the grass under the tree. Every day after my walk, I collect the flowers, put them in glass bowls and keep them all over the house.  It always makes the rooms more fragrant and cheerful!
A few days back I was not in a very good mood when I went for my walk. I was thinking of a beautiful pottery tea-pot that I had broken accidently. It was a gift from a dear friend and I valued it greatly. Pouring tea out of it had become a ritual I looked forward to every day. Now thanks to my clumsiness I could no longer use it!

As I walked towards the Parijat tree to collect the flowers, I saw a few branches lying under the tree as well. On a whim I picked them up and brought them home. I was looking around for a pot small enough to hold the fragile branches, when my eyes fell on the discarded tea pot. I decided to put the stems in that broken pot, arranging them so that the broken end could not be seen. Then I decided to put the flowers in my room, next to my books. 

Then I clicked a picture.

And as I looked at the picture, I realized that I had a few of my favourite things right in front of me .. Books, pottery and Flowers !

And that made me very happy indeed :)

Happiness is not something we need to run after or look for. It’s there, right in front of us.All we need to do is change our perspective!