Everybody Wants A Little Sunshine

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night” – Steve Martin

I have never really craved for the Sun living in Bangalore where the weather is pleasant all year round. Not even when I was in London for a while and temperatures touched 0, sometimes lower. But at the Vipassana Center in Igatpuri in December last month (2nd thru 13-DEC-2015), it was pretty cold. Each morning before we got into the group meditation the sun would be just out 10-15 mins before we got in. People found themselves nice spots amidst the shadows of the trees where tiny spot lights warmed them up a bit. But there was only as much of the sunlight. I rarely found a spot. I stopped hunting for one eventually. It used to be quite a sight and I would capture it if they let us keep the devices, but they don’t 🙂 So…

I felt when things around get rather cold, one begins to value the warmth. In UK, I noticed people were generally cold. I am not sure if it was the weather or people were slightly racist but one would expect cold snares if you took too long to place an order, were not clear in instructions, could not follow instructions, etc. People were generally very pissed. Abhi, recently when I was in Delhi, in biting cold, I noticed a similar coldness in the people. You ask for an extra serving and all you receive is a frown, if you touch anything with your jhootha vessel you will get this very cold look for it, etc.

So as soon as I landed in UK, my brother was escorting me home. We were headed towards this tube when a Afro-Anglican lady comes towards us and hands us a pass. I don’t get it. My brother explains that she is getting into the airport and doesn’t need it any more. Since it is a pass it can be used for the whole day. I make a note to self that this simple gesture is a nice thing to do. Not sure if it is legally allowed. At least in Bangalore you are supposed to sign it. In any case, the incident helped me handle the coldness I otherwise received.

Noticed that it is a polite thing to start by asking, “How are you doing today?” Most just asked it without wanting any answer really. If you did respond, “Doing fine. How about you?” They might actually be taken aback 🙂 If amidst all this if you saw someone smile, it would warm your heart up. They say,

“It takes 4 muscles to smile.It takes 16 muscles to frown.It takes 24 muscles to become furious”

So we are not even talking about putting an extra effort here. Just smile a little, you might make someone’s day.

A smile, doesn’t have to be the second best thing you can do with your lips 🙂 Smile is indeed the best make up you can put on a face, makes anybody looks nicer! 😀

So go ahead and add on the Smile-age. Everybody can do with a little Sunshine! 🙂