I was walking down the street the other day and saw many strings of lights people had put up for Diwali and now for Christmas, thinking why a string of lights look much better than a large size strobe light at any place even though the strobe light provides thousands more lumens in brightness. And a string of thoughts started lightning up my mind.
On a side note, In our family or perhaps in entire Indian culture, everyone born before 1972 is a philosopher. The year 1972 means they have turned or are about to turn 50. And they relate with Socrates more than they relate with their own children.
So my philosophical mind rushed to find a connection between the holiday season lights (just to be politically correct but I meant Diwali and Christmas lights), and the meaning of life. Well, I tried hard but couldn’t find a connection, not even a distant relative. Then suddenly, like lightning, the connection between festival lights and happiness struck me. I realized happiness is not one strobe of powerful light that lightens up a large structure, rather hundreds of little joyful events in life that makes us happy, just like the strings of lights or candles that make a house glow during Diwali, Christmas, and all those festivals where we use these lights. We humans always keep looking for a strobe of light to make us happy and ignore the small lights, strung together which can make a beautiful display of our happy lives.
As some wise man has said before, it’s the journey that matters more than the destination. So enjoy the journey; enjoy every small little bulb when you see a light string, think of them as little joys in your life. I enjoy it when my grandson smiles after seeing me at the door or when he holds my finger to walk with me or just simply calls me Nana in his soft voice. I enjoy it when the chime outside my door makes beautiful sounds. My heart gets filled with joy when I cook something, and my guests say it’s not bad. Yes, it’s a miracle when I cook something and it’s not bad.
So if you are under 50 and/or not a born Indian, start philosophizing everything around you and I can guarantee it will give you such a joy that you will stop looking at big strobe lights in front of the buildings and statues. On that thought, those strobe lights also look good when they are accompanied by a string of small lights. So when you are driving or walking down the street, look at those lights closely and let a smile add to your holiday joy remembering this philosophical thought and the wise man who pointed it out. I am looking forward to many strings of lights when I take my grandson and granddaughter for a ride this holiday season and we cherish those little strings of joy.
Happy Holidays!
Take 2 Creations 