The Key to Happiness

You want to shake off the feeling, but it refuses to budge. Stuck on to you like a wad of chewing gum. It is there, it is irritating and pulling it off you is going to be a messy ordeal. I seem to be having that kind of a day today. When nothing no one says seems to please me. When I am so determined to be unhappy, that I just don’t find a reason to smile.

It has been a little hectic at work too, needing (and wanting to, as well!) to manage multiple tasks at the same time, with the same enthusiasm and effort. You come home exhausted to find some little trigger that is enough to add to your already growing dark cloud of gloom. I was stuck in between, trying to finish off something at work before I shut down for the day, when an unexpected ray of sunshine pierced through that grey cloud.

A colleague knocked lightly on the door, wanting to know if we could sit together and finish up a task assigned to the both of us. I readily agreed, eager for a change of scenery and some company. As we deftly dealt with the task at hand, we slipped into easy conversation. And as his questions began to dot my narrative, a weird thing happened within. His curiosity made me recount little moments that brightened up my day. His enthusiasm to know more made me go back to times when I had helped myself. And his simple summation of our talk with the words “You are my role model in this office. There is so much to learn from you..” brought with it, a tsunami of emotion.

It was late, I was tired, I was angry, depressed and ready to vent out with some tears. Instead, we stayed to give each other company, locked up with the satisfaction of a job well done and the only vent out to an otherwise bad day, was a smile.

Happiness, they say, comes from unexpected sources. This is evidence, I believe…