Something to Smile About

Have I left my ability to smile or that the stresses and burdensome thinking has left me paralyzed.

I know I am not the only one who worries abt why funds are lavishly spend in beautifying the city when there are millions of people sleeping hungry every night in their roofless homes.

I don’t intend to depress you all or don’t get an impression that talking to me will only bring you morally and emotionally down…

The reason why I am telling you this is that I need your help in identifying me the techniques where you all can keep the non serious laid back attitude when u see the depressive state of our city and people all around you…

It’s a treat to hear someone laugh in public and on the go… while driving the only expressions I see around me when I see people is that of hopelessness, frustrations, frowns, blankness, bleakness, depression, devastation, suppression, regression, aggression, apprehension, restlessness, stresses, and disappointment of all sort… No eyes I see are shining with a hope or a dream or looking forward to where they are heading….

No sign of a childlike curiosity, wonderment, faith, fearlessness, craziness.

While waiting in the car I have no other option but to see straight…. Even if in forgetfulness my head wud turn to one of the sides, the women or men or even a kid would look at me with so many suspicions or frown that I wud have nothing but to set my gaze back to neutral position…We are eating disgust, dirking, frustration and excreting aloofness in the environment… and all this is adding to the air of hostility lying around us….

And now I literally find no reason to smile as I look around me… but die to hear even a most stupidest joke that anyone around me makes to get the doze of adrenaline rushing into my body…. Juts to ensure I don’t end up losing all my color before I reach 40.

So when my bro came out from the khan store chucking… I cudnt help but ask what made him laugh… he told me the khan told him… (you know na what your parents call you? Husain patla (thin) husain chuckled and said abhi mhota hogaya to? And they both laughed… ) Nothing extraordinary as per the taste of a us pakistanis…any joke that is not to kae it to the laughter challenge is not worth laughing at I believe as per our perfectionist phsyche, and also we need a lot long warm up to really get our smiling and laughing muscles to operate on jokes like these. But it was enuf for me to laugh and feel a bit lighter.

But I realize smiling and laughter are the most instantaneous and sure remedy for any kind of stress you are facing… and laughter therapy made a lot of sense to me…

According to it… when ur body is happy u smile and when u smile your body feels happier and healthier and u automatically y reduce stress…Just like only if u control your breathing you will feel a much difference in your emotional state… try breathing deep in time of heavy stresses you will automatically feel relaxed… try doing it when u are angry you will automatically start to soften and let go…similarly place a smile on your mouth when under great stress or burden or simply start laughing and ull see the negative energy goes miles away….(all this if u cannot surround yourself with positive energy in terms of some light hearted fun loving colleagues, songs of positivist or beautiful surroundings)

I visualized how I am going to look on a typical day. Whether it is my boss, my colleagues, a customer or a subordinate…. I ill have a smile plastered on my face… no matter how much my body and heart will be against this effort and my mind finding all kind of reasons to let me take it back saying, a hollow smile isn’t worth it, don’t be a pretender now, or u look like a fool, u r hitting on him etc and I will only have one word for the line of reasons shut up and stop stressing me….u dumb head… u urself vote the solution and u hardly can support me when it comes time to practice it… what a loser of a mind are you… I am smiling for my sake not theirs and if they get any other meanings out of it it’s their problem…

I know what will happen; as soon as people will see me smiling they will lose their defenses, against me… I will be inviting them to loosen up themselves except they are those bunches who find it impossible to laugh at someone lower then their own breach…. As for them I don’t give a damn…. I still have a even bigger rebellious smile for them…

With this attitude I will not only be guarding myself against the ongoing throws of stresses and hopelessness that keep coming on and know that hope still survives but also be able to transmit it to others who have given It up in their today in their tomorrow in their God in their city and in themselves.