I am an on-and-off reader. There are days when I go on and
on reading stuff. I am so engrossed in multiple books at the same time that
nothing else seems to matter. Days pass by and so does the reading fever. And
then there are days, when I don’t read at all. I don’t feel like picking up the
newspaper. I don’t like the sight of a written word. Then there is a phase
between these two extremes, when I force myself into reading, for the heck of
it. I reluctantly pick up the newspaper, telling myself it cost me a rupee or
two. I text multiple people to suggest me an interesting read. Then I put in
all my reason to choose which one will bring me back from the other side, back
into the lovable world of words. And so goes on the cycle.
But all this while, there is one thing that I never miss
reading. It’s called the 1000AwesomeThings. It’s an award-winning blog that’s also
been supposedly turned into a book. I believe most of you would have read it as
well, or heard of it, or stumbled upon it. But I felt the need to write about
it.
The idea is quite simple. Neil writes about one awesome
thing, every weekday. The thing can be as trivial as the joy of getting gas just
before the price goes up, or Thinking it’s Thursday when it’s Friday, or Seeing
someone laugh in their sleep. The list can go on. Some posts are long. Some are
as short as a sentence. And some post-titles are enough to brighten up your
day.
The amazing part is how a thing as little as “Watching
something download really fast” can make you happy. And each day is filled with
so many of these trivial things. And each day we experience something of this
sort. But how many of us really take note of it, and feel thankful about it:
About the little joys that life is filled with; the little gifts that we are
blessed with. And what IS life anyways, if we take away these little joys from
it! Neil lost a friend, but he chose to see the brighter side of life. And what
a gift it is! To show a million people the beautiful side of life. We live our
lives on the edge. We look at each day as if it were a battle. We cry about so
many things. Some are really sad. Some are not so much. Some are completely
unworthy. Truth is, It is all in the mind. It is liberating to just know that a
simple change in outlook can change your entire life. At the same time, it is
surprising that the things that bother us so much, can only be dealt with by
our own selves.
I like reading the posts on this blog, because they make me
happy. And I hope one fine day, I will be able to see all these awesome things
with my own eyes, and will not need somebody to point them out to me.
So next time, you use your remote control without having to
even look at it; or find a hundred-note in your old jeans, or catch a bus at
exactly the moment it is going to leave; hold on, pause and feel the
awesomeness of the moment. Because that might be the most awesome moment that
you are going to live that day; and probably just that feeling could be enough
to make the rest of your day as awesome.
Happy living !
