The French have a song they like to sing. ‘Qu’est-ce Qu’ on attend pour etre heureux?’ (What are you waiting for in order to be happy?)
It was an H – week to remember. We had World Happiness day and Holi-day back to back. I was reading a short article “Hugging the happiness curve”. I was reading this article for the second time. So what stood out in that article was the effect of a hug. The article talks about a baby whom the doctors had lost hope but the mother had not. She held the baby close to her heart. Two hours later when everyone was ready to leave the baby started gasping. Hugs are powerful and not just in politics!
Research says that the hugs you get from the time of your birth define your health, your IQ and even to some extent the home environment as the report mentioned. Think about it. I was not able to comprehend this piece of information. Interestingly the same day it turned out to be the world happiness Day as I got this below message from my friend.
Then my friend surprised my family with a gift. I thanked her and she responded that it is RAK. I had to crack that acronym. It was as she said “Random Acts of Kindness“.That was a real act which made me delve deeper into this subject of RAK’s. I was reflecting on my acts from last week.
Over the week I practiced RAK. I picked up waste paper on my way up after the run and kept it in the wastebasket. I was in a coffee shop and while I was going out I saw a gentleman reading a book. I was curious to check the title. I opened a conversation and he turned we be a voice coach for RJ’s and voice over. He got in touch with me later and I had a chance to see a demo meeting last weekend. I thanked a person for my linked in a recommendation and wrote a recommendation back.
I saw an unknown number when I was having a conversation with my old colleague. I took the call. On the other side was a person who got my number from Hemlatha. She was inspired by the blog. I was also very happy that the goal of my last blog was met. Around 400 people have seen the blog so far. We spoke for several minutes exchanging nice things. I told her that we will be in touch both on social and in person. Such is the power of social media to have a RICH conversation.
It was a collision of two worlds The very next day on FB messenger I connected with an old college friend of mine who was inspired by Hemlatha’s story. He was checking if this is my full-time job (mentioned that now I am in-between jobs). I told him that this is my weekend passion and blogging has helped me rediscover myself. We both shared our phone nos and I had a chance to speak to him after 8 years thanks to social media and the story of Hemlatha. I received a call from one of my old friend. He was complimenting the deeper conversations in RICH blog and this time he wanted me to listen to him and give some opinions on some of his perspectives in life. I was honored and that moment I recognized his humility and his spirit to sculpt himself to the next level in life when we think 60 is the time for retirement. I had these three RICH conversations thanks to my last blog.
I got the answer to the question of “are you waiting to become happy.” Once you decide to do the RAK’s and share the RICH’s you will not wait to become happy. My Ex-colleague messaged me and checked with me for a meetup. We finally worked around and got to meet up ( JLT). He broke the news of his new job. I was so happy for him and we had a very good time together talking about how we both are raising our daughters.
Simon Sinek’s take on the difference between happiness and Joy was interesting. Happiness will happen here and there and seeking joy comes from relationship, belonging and cause. RAK’S (Random acts of kindness) as I learned from my friends and my father made me realize the importance of creating “happy” states. The RICH (Right Impact to Change hearts) conversations through blog Comments, Phone Calls, and Whatsapp messages made me realize the importance of Joy.
I had this unique feeling last week of being “happy” thanks to “RAK’s actions” and en”joy” moments thanks to “RICH conversations”
A lot of practitioners have written about Happiness and Joy. I wanted to get an answer from my apartment friend. I asked him this question of “difference between happiness and joy”. In his typical cool demeanor, he said ” Joy Icecream and Happy Juice!“We had a good laugh. My answer to my apartment friend was that “joy is seeing the oasis in the desert and happiness is drinking the water.”
