Monday, March 12, 2007

Day 43: Things that make me crazy… with joy

I’ve been dwelling in my thoughts for several days, wondering what my next post would be about. Since I was totally unable to write something really funny about my more-than-regular life, I decided to write about things that make me happy, maybe just to compensate for this strange rainy, windy, kind-a-gloomy weather we’re currently experiencing.

Happiness is something quite difficult to grasp, especially when you are not aware of the things or events that can trigger the feeling. Fortunately, I’m one of the few people who have been able to identify some.

1. Flying: I don’t care what they say: the greatest achievement of men has been the conquest of the skies. I’ve had the chance to practice abseiling, and I’m dying to fly a delta-wing. There’s nothing in the world that can compare to the emotion of taking off. How can people grow tired of flying?

2. Books: as I have mentioned before ‘till redundancy, starting a new book really makes me happy. It’s a new opportunity to escape from the little annoyances of daily life into a private world completely closed to others. Except for the statistically rare case someone is reading the same book in my vicinity. Not likely to happen.

3. Cats: most people regard those furry little beasts as treacherous and mean miniaturized tigers, to which I must disagree. If cats are treated with the same amount of attention and love dogs are given, they are very likely to develop the behavior one would expect from a dog. “Fuchi”, (/FOO-shi/) my Maine Coon queen cat is a perfect example. She is so fond of human company that most visitors to my place find her disturbing (and sometimes annoying). And all felines, both big and small, represent the sum of beauty and power to me.

4. Horses: what could be more delicious that hanging around with horses? Whether riding or tending them whenever I have the slightest chance, I can go crazy with joy if I can get my hands on them, not to mention taking a good ride.

5. Cartoons: again, my tendency to escape to little worlds of fantasy leaps with joy if I happen to find a good cartoon with a good story. From Noir to Danny Phantom, I can spend 30 minutes with my eyes glued to the screen, following their adventures rapturously.

6. Writing / Drawing: well, basically whatever involves a creative process. Actually, that’s one of the reasons why I accepted the suggestion to write a blog. Since my writing creativity seems to be on indefinite leave, I decided that at least I should try to continue expressing my thoughts in an articulated way (yeah, sure) to avoid getting rusty.

7. Expensive restaurants: due to the budget and dietary restraints, I haven’t been able to enjoy this one very much lately, but there’s nothing more pleasant than going into a fancy restaurant and try something unusual, such as frog legs, caviar, “escamoles” (ant eggs and larvae which, as disgusting as it may sound, are regarded as the Mexican caviar), and, of course, the dessert tray!

In conclusion, I must say that indeed is the simple things of life which can give us with those tiny little moments of happiness that may turn a dull day into a remarkable experience.

Have you found what makes you happy?

6 comments:

Miao 妙 said...

Ah, I love horses too. I think they are among the most beautiful animals on Earth. And speaking of drawing, it has been a long time since I last picked up a pencil or a paintbrush. I used to be quite an artist (I was top in art in my cohort), but now my skills have already become rusty. :(

The Usual Stuff said...

Well, you're pretty lucky. Once you've learned how to draw, it's easy to recover your skills. I can't get past the "circles n'lines" stage. =(

Jingo said...

I was born in the year of the horse...

The Usual Stuff said...

Jingo: that sounds great. Maybe that's why I like you, since I was born under the Ox (sigh) sign. They tend to get along pretty well. Maybe one day we could graze together. LOL :D

bridgeout said...

I love the end of this post... I have also discovered it is the simple things that seem to bring those memorable moments of happiness and fill average days with joy. :)

The Usual Stuff said...

wep601: I do believe is the sum of little happy moments that add up to the total of a happy life.