Sunny Side Up

“We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realize we only have one” Tom Hiddleston

A crow lived in the forest and was absolutely satisfied with life. But one day he saw a swan. “This swan is so white,” he thought, “and I am so black. This swan must be the happiest bird in the world.”

He expressed his thoughts to the swan. “Actually,” the swan replied, “I was feeling that I was the happiest bird around until I saw a parrot, which has two colors. I now think the parrot is the happiest bird in creation.”

The crow then approached the parrot. The parrot explained, “I lived a very happy life until I saw a peacock. I have only two colors, but the peacock has multiple colors.”

The crow then visited a peacock in the zoo and saw that hundreds of people had gathered to see him. After the people had left, the crow approached the peacock. “Dear peacock,” the crow said, “you are so beautiful. Every day thousands of people come to see you. When people see me, they immediately shoo me away. I think you are the happiest bird on the planet.”

The peacock replied, “I always thought that I was the most beautiful and happy bird on the planet. But because of my beauty, I am entrapped in this zoo. I have examined the zoo very carefully, and I have realized that the crow is the only bird not kept in a cage. So for past few days, I have been thinking that if I were a crow, I could happily roam everywhere.”

That’s our problem too. We make unnecessary comparison with others and become sad. We don’t value what we have and what is given to us. This all leads to the vicious cycle of unhappiness. Learn to be happy in what you have instead of looking at what you don’t have. There will always be someone who will have more or less than you have. Person who is satisfied with what he/she has, is the happiest person in the world.

Life is a journey of ups and downs

Each life has a Sunny Side. The secret is to “keep it UP”. UP as in pointing north

What do I mean by that?

Infuse your life with action. Don't wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice and most important, have courage to follow you heart and intuition.

Like Steve Jobs said, your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.

Six keys to happier living

1.     GIVING. Do things for others.

Helping other people is not only good for them. It's good for us too! Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone.

2.     RELATING. Connect with people.

People with strong relationships are happier, healthier, and live longer. Our close relationship with family and friends provide love, meaning, support, and self-worth

3.     TRYING OUT. Keep learning new things.

Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways - it exposes us to new ideas, helps us stay curious and engaged, and gives us a sense of accomplishment. 

4.     MEANING. Be part of something bigger.

People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier and get more out of what they do. But where do we find meaning and purpose? It might come from our family, our beliefs, or our jobs.

5.     RESILIENCE. Find ways to bounce back.

All of us have had times of stress and trauma, loss and failure in our lives. We often cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we react to what happens

6.     EXERCISING. Take care of your body.

Being active is good for our physical health and improves our mood. Let's boost our well-being by spending more time outdoors, unplugging from technology, and getting enough sleep!

Bad things do happen; how you respond to them defines your character and the quality of your life. You can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or you can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift you have – life itself

Everyone fails. Everyone makes mistakes.

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space

Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive. Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing

People have different reasons for the way they live their lives. You cannot put everyone's reasons in the same box. When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.

Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. It is true, our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

In life we do things. Some we wish we had never done. Some we wish we could replay a million times in our heads. But they all make us who we are, and in the end they shape every detail about us. If we were to reverse any of them we wouldn’t be the person we are.

So just live, make mistakes, have wonderful memories. But never ever second guess who you are, where you have been, and most importantly where it is you are going.

Everyday is an opportunity to make your life the way you want it to be. Anything is possible when you work toward it, one day at a time. Skip a day, and you lose momentum. Try it all at once, and you burn out. Steadily, consistently work, making every day count, and you will reach your goals. Today is a chance to grow - to do a little bit more than you did yesterday, a little bit better, a little bit more effectively. Anyone can do a little more, learn a little more, and grow a little more each day.

Soon, with consistent effort, those “little bits” add up to major accomplishments. Is there something you want to change? Today is the day to start changing it. Not tomorrow or Sunday or Monday or Someday. Someday is not a day in the week. You deserve to reach your goals as soon as possible. Control today and control your life.

The following words on Life by Sir Walter Raleigh only sums up the meaning of life. So true, so beautiful, so apt.

Life

What is our life? A play of passion,

Our mirth the music of division,

Our mother's wombs the tiring-houses be,

Where we are dressed for this short comedy.

Heaven the judicious sharp spectator is,

That sits and marks still who doth act amiss.

Our graves that hide us from the setting sun

Are like drawn curtains when the play is done.

Thus march we, playing, to our latest rest,

Only we die in earnest, that's no jest.

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality.

To help yourself, you must be yourself. Be the best that you can be. When you make a mistake, learn from it, pick yourself up and move on.

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Wake Up and Live! Life to the Fullest. Sunny Side Up!!