5 Things that Make me Happy

This topic was prompted by Devang last month I believe, so here you are. I wanted to start by asking first:

• What makes you happy? Puts you at ease? Motivates you to be your best self?

Some days are happier than others, we all notice that. Looking back I see things in a different light, nostalgia is definitely bitter sweet. It makes you laugh until you cry.

Georgian artist I discovered last summer by chance.

1. Music makes me happy. Good music I should say, the one that conveys so much emotion you can’t help it. Dance music is something I absolutely love, hands down. Ballet dancing is a magical experience I miss a lot here. Kyiv is famous for its opera and ballet performances, diversity and quality of the shows are incredible. Music is also a cultural experience wherever you go, sampling different music is like opening another chakra or the third eye if you will.
2. Flowers and plants in general fascinate me, flora is a gift we all received at birth yet some of us luckier than others to be able to enjoy those all year round. I paint them and photograph them simply because they bring life and color into every day of otherwise monotonous routine. Flowers are full of fantasy and philosophy. They are seasonal teaching us a lesson that nothing lasts forever and nothing stays gold.
3. Tea and food should be number one on my list. Tea is a meditation and food is a never-ending feast. I prefer pure Indian black tea of Gulabi brand. It comes in 1 kg package so it lasts longer than a day or two. I have it with sugar or jam, which is already food. Food is my number one language of love, if I love you I want to feed you. Food is a common religion of otherwise disconnected people, it’s like a glue that keeps us humans together. I love cooking and sharing my recipes with others, for me it’s sharing love. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq4ME1M620I
4. Having a dialogue with another person makes me endlessly happy. Often times people talk at you or you are talking at them, at the end of the day no one feels heard or listened to. If a real connection happens that it feels very organic and brings great joy to all parties involved. I wish it happed more often, in this case we would have been happier and healthier as a nation. Communication happens on so many levels, it can be verbal or non verbal, face-to-face or remote, it can be written or oral. It’s the art we could all get better at, in fact, we should all try to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6n3iNh4XLI
5. Getting things done makes me feel accomplished, if I did a great job I can reward myself. If I finished something, I can give myself a pat on the back. It makes me feel alive. It makes me feel important. Having a mission is absolutely necessary so that we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Some jobs are better at this than others, instant gratification helps us get so much needed feedback. This is the reason so many people have gaming addiction, the feeling of accomplishment is not to be sneezed at. True or false, one or zero, sink or swim. Motivation comes from your own experience of getting things done, put yourself out there, try it instead of watching and waiting for the perfect moment to get things done.

Happy people make the world go round, what is happiness after all? Is it the same or different for each one of us? Is it vague or crystal clear?

Suzy

The week was full of fun. People, places, pleasures… Glamorous life of a young celebrity is everybody’s dream you would think, but she wasn’t really impressed by gifts and flowers her wannabe boyfriends showered her with. Watching the sun goes down and daydreaming of an empty city guarded by stray dogs and friendly crows has become her hobby. The sound of silence was her favorite thing after all the rehearsals and music lessons she was required to take. Language and art classes were optional so she could enjoy them a bit more.

Some days flying first class was like a second job for her, she grew to hate it so fast. Schedules and itineraries were always in the way as if someone or something else owned her life. When will I start living for real? – she would ask herself time and again. Most folks would do anything to have the luxury of being famous, rich and beautiful. But she had another dream…

What a weird world we live in! People only want what they can’t have. If they are single they try to get married, if they are married they want a divorce. In the crowd we always seek for privacy and staying home alone inspires the need to go out. Contradictory human nature is there to challenge and make us miserable. In winter we want sunny warm days and in a hot season we are dreaming of snow and frost.

It was a middle of December, two years since she became a star. Holiday season with all its charm was in full swing, the time to make wishes and wait for miracles to happen. Suzy was hoping to run away from her successful career in show business and become a world traveler, hitch hiker and camper. No schedules, no flights, no obligations… Sweet, sweet dreams to be living a simple life of a nobody.

Ukraine

August 24 is Independence Day in Ukraine. It’s a big deal for Ukrainians since latest events have not been the greatest. Lots of people immigrated different places still dreaming to come back one day. Who knows maybe in the future things will be back to normal? Keep praying and hoping for the better.

If you ever want to travel somewhere nice and cheap go visit Ukraine. I miss it terribly! Kyiv is the best city I have ever lived, for me it’s the place where miracles happen and history is still alive. Explore and you will be surprised how much more there is to discover…

This country has a lot of problems and stuff but it feels real with four seasons, good and bad smells, street markets and all the pleasures of public transport. People are so direct, sometimes you wish they weren’t that way and women are so beautiful that it’s hard to keep up to par. Population is mostly poor, there is no middle class but it doesn’t seem that way.

Ukrainians love foreigners thinking that all of them are milliners. Foreign culture is considered to be better, a lot of loan words are used just because it’s cool. Traditional food is great, hospitality depends on the money paid and part of the country you are in. If you want to see the contrast go to Lviv where people speak Ukrainian and Odessa which is mostly Russian, fantastic tourist destinations with tons of things to enjoy. I wish I was there to be your guide…

 

Power

Knowledge is power they say… But ignorance is bliss. I love being blissfully ignorant sometimes and I think it saves a lot of positive energy and faith. On the other hand, my addiction to know it all, does it do me any good?

Being educated, well read and well travelled is considered to be great. Why then our system of education is getting weaker and weaker every year, forgive my rant, teachers will always be teachers. It’s funny that we think we are smart but can we make a living?

Not knowing everything is actually a blessing. You have to depend more on others and trust their judgement. And, of course, no one is perfect, so you would have to forgive others for their false views and opinions. This part here is a bit uncomfortable. This is why we want to be gods knowing everything and never making any mistakes. How about forgiving yourself then? Since we don’t know everything we do get ourselves in trouble otherwise there is no way we could be doing anything in life ever.

So what is real power? If it’s not knowledge than maybe it’s forgiveness or generosity… Or wisdom, not sure how to define this one. Anyway, we all want to be powerful this way or the other.

Design your life

What makes up your day? Mine consists of so many little things that I can hardly keep all of them in mind. Sometimes it’s hard to tell which one is a game changer. Think about

• Food and exercise
• People you deal with
• Music, books and movies
• Social networks
• Living conditions

To make your life better you need to grab the bull by the horns and be responsible for your own happiness. Give up your fears and start living the dream!

1. Buy / make decent food, plan a week in advance
2. Walk / run 30-40 minutes a day, do other fitness activities if you like
3. Minimize time with irritating people, maximize positive exposure
4. Be selective with the books / movies you enjoy, pick the inspirational ones
5. Hide / unfollow negative posts / people online. Time yourself while in cyberspace
6. Make your home comfy: clean, fix and declutter as much as you can
7. Love what you get, get what you love

The process of designing your life can take longer than you think. I started 2-3 years ago, some changes are obvious and some are still in progress, I wish it could be done overnight but it’s a process.