Cut to 1 week back.
Its a normal Friday morning at office. I am sitting in my swivel chair with a pen pressed between my lips and wondering deeply about what lies in front of me. Seemingly, I am evaluating the marketing plan for the next 2 months. But covertly, I am staring blankly at the flickering laptop screen, throwing up deluge of numbers and multiple worksheets which are unfathomable.
As I am scratching my head, trying to fathom the excel sheet a strange thing happens. Just like a genie would appear and create magic...poof! in a matter of few seconds my marketing budget numbers suddenly unscramble and transform into, would you believe?..'Dates on the calendar'. Not just ordinary dates but they happen to be the very very appealing dates of our forthcoming Diwali holidays in the coming week - 26th to 30th October 2011. Oh what a coincidence, I say! Or was I just seeing things which I wanted to rather see.
In just a few minutes my feeling of helplessness with the complicating budget figures (Its obvious, I am mathematically challenged!) gave away to a euphoric feeling of joie de vivre.
Absolutely nothing had changed in those last few minutes. I was still sitting in the same chair, same office, breathing the same air (sprayed with lemon freshener)but my mind had done a complete volte face. Here I was, from a typical harried working woman who was antsy and at tethers end was now eagerly looking forward to the Diwali holidays like a kid would in school waiting for his long Diwali chhutti.
After all it was indeed going to be a really long weekend. After Monday & Tuesday it was going to be 5 holidays of "WTF weekend!".
A happy warm feeling overcame my whole being!
And the festivals in India are just that, aren't they?
A source of feel good factor.
Festivals to celebrate goodness, to celebrate the return of our heroes (from mythology), their triumph over evil, worshiping our gods and expressing our gratitude.
But the real feel good factor of festivals for me is because its such a wonderful package of old memories from childhood, happy experiences from the past, gifting and receiving gifts, meeting family and friends, shopping, cleaning home and decorating, making delicacies, devouring them and last but not the least the feeling of hope and positivity all around us.
Cut to now
Its a late Sunday evening and the Diwali holidays have almost come to an end. The feel good factor has suddenly disappeared into thin air and instead, a growing ennui of the fast approaching Monday has seized me completely. After a long weekend of R & R (rest and relaxation)which I wished would never end has now given way to the new R & R (rant and rush).
And then it hit (the stupid)me hard like Arnie's powerful bazooka... Bam!
Just like a week back nothing had changed around me to make me feel suddenly happy in my office chair, so also now, there was no change in reality but just change of my thinking which had brought back the feeling of normal, dreary, boring or whatever you could call of your daily grind.
The feel good that I felt before Diwali and I have been raving about ...was may be real or may be not. It was just Maya ...an illusion!
Just as much is the growing ennui in my head right now due to the soon to dawn Monday.
Thoughts which had changed my perspective of things around.
As they say...We are what we think! So I say, might as well have happy and positive thoughts always (at least try to) as they provide us hope for future and make 'feel good factor' a permanent resident in our heads.
Its a normal Friday morning at office. I am sitting in my swivel chair with a pen pressed between my lips and wondering deeply about what lies in front of me. Seemingly, I am evaluating the marketing plan for the next 2 months. But covertly, I am staring blankly at the flickering laptop screen, throwing up deluge of numbers and multiple worksheets which are unfathomable.
As I am scratching my head, trying to fathom the excel sheet a strange thing happens. Just like a genie would appear and create magic...poof! in a matter of few seconds my marketing budget numbers suddenly unscramble and transform into, would you believe?..'Dates on the calendar'. Not just ordinary dates but they happen to be the very very appealing dates of our forthcoming Diwali holidays in the coming week - 26th to 30th October 2011. Oh what a coincidence, I say! Or was I just seeing things which I wanted to rather see.
In just a few minutes my feeling of helplessness with the complicating budget figures (Its obvious, I am mathematically challenged!) gave away to a euphoric feeling of joie de vivre.
Absolutely nothing had changed in those last few minutes. I was still sitting in the same chair, same office, breathing the same air (sprayed with lemon freshener)but my mind had done a complete volte face. Here I was, from a typical harried working woman who was antsy and at tethers end was now eagerly looking forward to the Diwali holidays like a kid would in school waiting for his long Diwali chhutti.
After all it was indeed going to be a really long weekend. After Monday & Tuesday it was going to be 5 holidays of "WTF weekend!".
A happy warm feeling overcame my whole being!
And the festivals in India are just that, aren't they?
A source of feel good factor.
Festivals to celebrate goodness, to celebrate the return of our heroes (from mythology), their triumph over evil, worshiping our gods and expressing our gratitude.
But the real feel good factor of festivals for me is because its such a wonderful package of old memories from childhood, happy experiences from the past, gifting and receiving gifts, meeting family and friends, shopping, cleaning home and decorating, making delicacies, devouring them and last but not the least the feeling of hope and positivity all around us.
Cut to now
Its a late Sunday evening and the Diwali holidays have almost come to an end. The feel good factor has suddenly disappeared into thin air and instead, a growing ennui of the fast approaching Monday has seized me completely. After a long weekend of R & R (rest and relaxation)which I wished would never end has now given way to the new R & R (rant and rush).
And then it hit (the stupid)me hard like Arnie's powerful bazooka... Bam!
Just like a week back nothing had changed around me to make me feel suddenly happy in my office chair, so also now, there was no change in reality but just change of my thinking which had brought back the feeling of normal, dreary, boring or whatever you could call of your daily grind.
The feel good that I felt before Diwali and I have been raving about ...was may be real or may be not. It was just Maya ...an illusion!
Just as much is the growing ennui in my head right now due to the soon to dawn Monday.
Thoughts which had changed my perspective of things around.
As they say...We are what we think! So I say, might as well have happy and positive thoughts always (at least try to) as they provide us hope for future and make 'feel good factor' a permanent resident in our heads.
