Once upon a time, there was a bird that sang well. The only problem was she didn't know that she sang well. She crooned through the scorching summer, she carolled through the damp rains and she performed through the coarse winter. Not knowing that she did an excellent job. Not realizing that her singing made the forest a better place. Most of us are like that bird. Just like her, we don’t realize it; at least never on cue, never before somebody else points it out to us. Suffering is so common to us that we don’t have the time or the means to wrap our heads around why do we suffer in the first place. Like a lifelong game of waiting for something to happen. We also tend to undercut ourselves, not acknowledging our place in the universe—maybe, just maybe, you are the reason it’s expanding tirelessly—and this tragic state of affairs make us perpetually hungry for validation. The keyword here is enough. And we don’t know what that is. So, by extension, we don’t know how to be enough either.
Which brings us to the second, and more important plot of this post: joy. Endless essays have been written about a human being’s innate pursuit of happiness. But in practice, what we are genuinely seeking is joy. A few moments of bliss here and there, to justify the morbid state of our existence. An escape of the highest order, if you may. Happiness is difficult to bargain with because it’s incomplete without sadness. Joy has no such strings attached. Being joyous is as unique as it gets. Which is also why I’ve come to conclude that using the correct vocabulary makes all the difference: they ask you to look for happiness outside of yourself. What they mean to say here is, seek joy in activities that have nothing to do with you. Similarly, when they ask you to look for happiness within yourself, they are poking your spiritual side. A part of you that is supposed to be illuminating at any given point of time. In this confusion of syntax, we overlook the significance of food. How come? Well, a food is one of those few things that provides you joy when it’s outside of your body as well as when it’s already within you. In other words, it keeps you bright.
On that bright note, I wish you a splendid Diwali weekend ahead. May you enjoy delicious food and get what you are looking for despite the darkness surrounding you.
PS. I may neither know you nor love you but I’ll always care about you.
“We also tend to undercut ourselves, not acknowledging our place in the universe—maybe, just maybe, you are the reason it’s expanding tirelessly...”
What a beautiful piece of writing. Thank you for spreading joy and a happy Diwali to you!
I was waiting for this Diwali gift of yours! Thanks and happy Diwali to you too Shakti!!