I did the #100HappyDays, happily!

A few months ago, I came across this challenge talking about staying happy for 100 days in a row. Considering that I'm not an unhappy person per se (I'd be hard pressed to point out some days or period in my life when I was "unhappy"), it felt a bit ridiculous that people - in fact 71% of people - failed to complete this challenge. So for no other reason than, "how hard could it be?" I decided I was doing this #100HappyDays challenge, and Facebook was my preferred medium of self-publication.

Today, I'm actually a little proud of myself for having spent these 100 days posting a 100 photos on Facebook. Once a day, for 100 days in a row, I captured something that made me “happy”. Here’re some things I picked up along the way..

1. There is a lot of happiness in food. Whether it is a seasonal fruit, or a meal out after a long working day, or indulging in junk/comfort food “just because”. In fact, there are times when even a simple home cooked meal can bring happiness. And drinks too. About one fourth of my posts were directly or indirectly related to food and/or drink. And these were the posts that more people seemed to relate to. (So it’s not just me who’s a hungry slob :P)
2. Inspiration comes from unexpected places. Reactions of my Facebook friends to my daily posts were varied. Some of them unfollowed or blocked me, some made jokes and called me “Ms Happy Days”, and some made an extra effort to reach out to me and say, “Good going!” The last lot is what surprised me. More so because these were people I may not have been actively in touch with. It made me happy to see their encouragement, and it kept me going when this felt like a tedious task more than a fun challenge.
3. Happiness is very personal. The answer to what makes you happy reveals a lot about who you are. If I have to highlight a happy moment each day, my preferences, my loves, some childhood memories, some fetishes; all this and more is bound to reveal itself in one way or another. My husband felt a lot of my posts were too much ‘PDA’. But can I really help it if his affection is the thing that’s making me most happy on a day?
4. Social media is actually private media. There was a lot happening in my life during some of those 100 days to make me happy. But I had to often look for less personal, toned down news to post on facebook. And if happiness is personal then sorrow must be even more so. The line on social media for what is personal and what is shareable is drawn differently by each of us. Makes me realize (yet again) that the facebook timeline is a very microscopic, very filtered, and very air-brushed view of a person’s life.
5. And finally, the most crucial one – Being happy is easy. It’s not about viewing the world with rose tints, it is about making place for your ‘self’ in the world. There are things worth smiling about all around. We just need to step back from our daily rut and consciously recognize that good things – from the very miniscule to the very large life-changing ones – are actually happening to us every day.

Would you be willing to take on this challenge? I was inspired by a friend on Facebook, and I in turn inspired a few (I think).

It is definitely worth giving a shot. If nothing else, you’ll end up with an album of photos that will make you smile. Check out www.100happydays.com for details.

fan-dom

We were at a North Indian swanky airport the other day when my husband pointed out a lonesome tall man standing in the corner, gazing out into the horizon. "Isn't that such-n-such model?" I realised that it was him. While I was contemplating the fact that even though his head was now a fully salt-n-peppered crop, he still looked quite fit and attractive, I saw a young man walking up to him - mobile phone in hand. A polite request - Sir, may I click a picture with you - was politely declined - Sorry buddy, but no. The young man walked away, a bit embarrassed, and a bit disappointed. I smiled and thought, good for him. That sure seemed like a polite and efficient way of declining an invasion on one's privacy.

But later I wondered, would his reaction have been different if the young man had asked him for an autograph instead of a photograph? A normal reaction to spotting a celebrity in the days before the cell-phone-camera existed, was to rush to find a piece of paper to get their scribble on. A scrap from a notebook, paper napkin, for some extreme fans even a permanent marker on skin would do! And this scribble was then cherished by the fan for years, maybe even shown off to children & grand-children with pride. I assume the celebrities of yore would have signed hundreds, maybe thousands of such scraps of paper during their peak years. Why is it then that a simple photo with a fan - no forcing, no hustle, just a polite selfie - should be shunned as a severe invasion of privacy?

If we look around us, a lot of things are documented via the camera phone these days. Like a recipe in the newspaper? *Click* Need to scan an ID proof? *Click* Buying clothes and want the opinion of a partner who's across town (or the world)? *Click* Preserve the memory of tickets to a historic last tour of a band you've grown up listening to? *Click* An important business card? *Click*

Anything and everything that used to be noted down on a little notebook or cherished carefully in a scrapbook is now stored diligently on our hand-held photo repositories, aka the smartphones.

So a celebrity sighting should obviously follow suit. That's why it does come across as slightly in bad taste if you deny a single fan the pleasure of this keep-sake - an autograph of the modern world. Of course I'm sure there is a line there somewhere which is not so easy to draw. When does one photo turn into ten, which turns into a hundred, which turns into an unruly paprazzi-ish frenzy? I don't envy celebrities these choices they need to make sometimes.

But at that airport, on that day, I too felt just a little cheated like that young man must've felt. It was just one photo - one among the million you would've already gotten clicked in your lifetime - but one that would've been the most important one for that fan. And you denied it.