FEELING- EMOTION- SENTIMENT express: train of thoughts in the journey of life

Smile: reflection of happiness from heart, shining over the curves of face

Laughter: projection of joy with sound of delight

Tears: expression of emotions soaked in true feelings

Surprise: unexpected encounter with unexpected emotions

Gratitude: report of joy for the act of assistance

Kindness: incorporation of good conduct

Defeat: unavoidable instance of failure

Hope: energy to march ahead

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 …don’t worry, you have not reached some online version of dictionary! Though they express meaning of a few words, the aim is to introduce you to a ride over the train of thoughts. A train that shall connect us with stations such as smile, laughter, tears, surprise and many more on the way, the blogger in me hopped onto such an express for an interesting experience.

     With a ride to many wonderful places, I hope you will enjoy the journey too! Though some stations may appeal you more with a desire to stay longer; while some may disinterest you with nothing great to offer, sticking to the route and moving along is essential for the complete package.

    Feel free to share your comments while we travel, as this FEELING-EMOTION-SENTIMENT express runs on the fuel called experience. As each one of us have an unlimited stock of this fuel, we can hope to enjoy a hassle-free journey!

1^st station: SMILE

  What to look forward to: Expect happiness, joy, fun and pleasure at this destination as it has an abundant stock and unlimited supply!

   A curve on face for the joy in heart, smile is an expression to communicate. Not limited to our own acquaintances alone, smile is a perfect way to connect with everyone around. Breaking the ice with strangers, as smile extends a way to network, it provides an excellent fool-proof solution. Though it may last for a short while, smile can speak our heart and mirror our mind.

      It holds a great influence on our mood. At times, smile is all we need to change our frame of mind within minutes. Bringing enthusiasm when soaked in boredom, happiness when absorbed by sorrow, hope when surrounded by failure and support when gripped by loneliness, greeting by a smile can open all the doors. Acknowledging and appreciating the presence of people around, smile offers an opportunity to express our gratitude in a sweet, little way.

       An expression that connects people of all age groups, smile makes us feel loved, accepted and one among all. While words may refuse to accompany us at the most needed moment, smile does come to the rescue! Bridging people of different natures, smile is the universal tool used by all. From a shy introvert who finds it difficult to communicate to an extrovert instantly connecting with the crowd, from a listener with patient ears to an orator with stock of speeches, smile equates all in an expression of happiness.

     Smile from our dear ones work wonders as they energize our mission and fill our hearts with love. While smile from an elder does possess a unique charm, the magic of baby’s facial curve can never be expressed in words. Though photographs and videos of my little nephew’s smile bring joy and excitement, even simple narration of this expression by his parents offer an unusual taste of happiness. Since he is not yet equipped with the tool of speech, smile is his perfect flawless weapon to demand attention and enjoy the limelight! As innocence and truthfulness reflect from a child’s heart, their smile is the best gift to experience selfless and unbiased love.

       Willingness to smile demonstrates our desire to stay connected. It offers happiness of belonging to a particular place. As a first step to initiate contact, smile works towards this goal. A smiling face spreads positive radiance and ensures a good start. Though we may encounter challenges and troubles on our path, smile gives that much needed push, providing hope for success. An ornament that decorates our personality, this comparison shall explain the need to wear it always!

     Smiling at those around is certainly the best way to help. We may never realize, but our smile could be the only interesting event in a person’s course of day. Without demanding any materialistic resources, it is a wonderful way to deliver happiness.

    As a badge that brings each one together, smile is an identity to our humanity. Smile at an unknown figure on a foreign land and happiness shall definitely follow.

    Hope you enjoyed the halt at this land of smile. Make sure to shop well and grab as many smiles as possible, after all you have to flash them forever.

   Time to move to the second stop. Also named as the ‘Thank you land’, our NEXT STATION is called _____ (fill in the blank!)

    

For the child in us...

     

      Mention of our favorite cartoon show, sight of our most-savored chocolate as a kid, photographs filled with our innocent acts, memories of our unusual pranks - one single thought about these wonderful aspects and life takes us to our amazing childhood. A phase too fantastic to put down into words, a phase too colorful to paint it on our canvas, childhood is undoubtedly the best time in each one's life.
 
     An interesting story in itself, every life has a fun-filled plot along this journey as a kid. Century may vary, decade may differ, year may change and world may show diverse colors of modern times, yet every individual has a wonderful period to cherish. While talking to younger generation of today, each one's bag of kiddish memories open up to offer lot of meaningful lessons, unusual experiences and naughty secrets!

        As messages and wishes of Children’s day floated on this Saturday, it spread around happiness of a child’s life. Not willing to grow up and still hoping to be treated as a kid, as I forced my sister to include me in her wishes, along with my cute, little nephew; it made me realize that life as a kid was so amazing. With worries restricted to broken toys and hopes limited to daily supply of chocolates, this childhood journey was certainly colorful in every way.

     Now while, childhood has chosen to transfer us to other departments of life- offering duties of career, marriage, finances and parenthood, we definitely hoped to stay with that first wonderful phase a little longer. If given a chance, as we all would love to go back to our childhood, growing digit of age does the crucial work of pushing us towards maturity. Though it is impossible to reverse our clocks and move back to the innocent acts and childish talks, we can still preserve some aspects of it.

 Which are these factors that awaken the child in us?

 What are the actions that can lead to wonderful reactions filled with innocence, enjoyment        and laughter?

  How would it feel to seek happiness in little acts and aim for fun with no action-plan?

       While we all can create our own version of answers for this question bank, thinking about these aspects shall certainly pull you towards the magic of childhood. Preserving the child in us brings us closer to the joy of life, it prompts us to accept failures, magnify our efforts, laugh at our mistakes and be truthful to ourselves. Though we teach and train children with an aim to transform them into responsible individuals, we unknowingly lose our tricks of trade in the process. While surviving in the reality of world, as we are forced to accept maturity, it is necessary to have momentary revisits to that sweet, little inner child.

Let me help you with my answers, those may prompt you to frame your own!

Several fun-filled incidences in our daily life, pull us towards that little master.

1.       Favoring our favorites

    Favorite food item, favorite cuisine, favorite color, favorite outfit, favorite activity, favorite place and an endless list of personal favorites. Each of these dearly loved factors offer us unexplained joy. As we enjoy an unlimited stock of fun radiating from this list, it makes us feel like a child once again. Though our choice may evolve with age, the amount of happiness with each of these remain the same.

      So next time you sing your favorite song or order your most loved dish, be guilt-free while you enjoy it as a little kid.

2.       Exploring novelties

         When life offers us a chance to explore new experiences – an activity never tried before, a place never visited in the past or a cuisine never tasted earlier, a child-like excitement rises from the core. With an interest to explore these novelties and energy to try out diverse experiences, we get closer to an unbiased frame of mind.

     Try your hand at a different game or plan a holiday to an exotic location, but make sure to leave your judgments at bay and enjoy it with the heart of a kid!

3.       Looking at the junior versions

          Sight of a child engrossed in the same kind of mischief like ours, once upon a time or stories about their activities, school, enjoyment and fun tempt us to compare it with our own childhood. As we enjoy this nostalgia and run along the memory lane with complete enthusiasm, we enter their shoes to be kids once again. Watching children and their conduct around us certainly has the power to make us young as we grab the opportunity to draw comparisons and make conclusions.

      Share your childhood mischievous stories with your kids, nephew, niece or grand-kids to relive as a child once again- but as a word of caution, do this only after you have signed a ‘non-repetition’ agreement with them!

     As a means to fill our hearts with love, energy, happiness and excitement, protecting the inner child is essential by all means. Keeping this child alive, while climbing the ladder of maturity is the only way of spreading sweet fragrance of life all around. 

   Wish a 'HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY to the child in each one of us, after all we need a reason to celebrate.

…because light travels everywhere, and so do feelings!

     Bright lights, colorful clothes, delicious food, interesting gifts, lovely wishes and happiness all around. When presence of these wonders dominate our typical routine, we realize the influence of an amazing festive aura. As this festival of light enters our lives with brightness, energy, enthusiasm and love, it feels wonderful to grab an opportunity of celebration. Bringing families, relatives, friends and well-wishers under a roof, no agenda is necessary to begin the festival. With focus on fun, food, happiness and prayers, DIWALI certainly lights our feelings and brightens our emotions.

     So while till date, celebrating this wonderful festival meant shopping, cooking, decorating and being with family on home ground, presence of foreign soil was expected to make a difference in this year’s schedule. Celebration of a special festival miles away from home country, yet the happiness of exploring a new style in a new land was definitely a cocktail of several feelings together.

    Following parents’ instructions every year, as I enjoyed being a loyal helper, there was a drastic change in my job role this time! I realized a badge of ‘in-charge’ waited to greet me with new responsibilities. This important festival post marriage was turning into an independent attempt, demanding plans and acts of execution.

     As I put my previous knowledge into action and looked forward towards the novel touch of new location, there was lot of excitement in picture. With no elder to validate my festive information, the opportunity of bossing over husband with my personalized set of instructions amplified the joy to a great extent! From preparing a shopping list for essential festive items to searching traditional recipes on the internet, from lighting little lamps in the house to adding a foreign twist to every aspect, this change of job was certainly fun in every way.

     While bringing this festival joy within the scope of ‘home away from home’, I realized it was not very different from the ones we celebrated during all these years. Though it was impossible to replicate every single aspect, it did offer us joy of experiencing love, devotion, values and enthusiasm. Savoring the taste of my experimental sweets while analyzing and comparing it with those made by mom each year, I pondered about the real meaning of a festival.

Is it about the location where you celebrate or the amount of money you spent?

Is it about the resources or materials that spell out traditional value or about the pure flavor of homely ingredients?

    While it is impossible to hunt for perfect and correct answers, life on a far-away shore tempted me to share my words, once again! Series of little lights shining over windows of many houses for this grand festival on foreign soil gave birth to the title of this blog. As light and feelings travel all around the world, it has taught me some interesting facets of festivals.

1.       Festivals do not have a PIN code

    Born with an aim to spread happiness and cheer in every household, festivals cannot be restricted to any particular address or location. Celebrated with feelings of love, care, trust and togetherness, they can be enjoyed in any part of the world. Be it a city far away from home or a country miles away from our birth soil, festivals do not validate your address to grant you access in its aura.

2.       Festivals do not have a price tag

                           While relationships cannot be purchased and feelings cannot be bought from the market,   festivals are not for sale either. They do not demand a fixed amount or expect a certain budget as celebrations involve feelings and emotions. With love and happiness as their initial raw materials, we can only amplify their presence year after year.  Though we look forward to gifting our loved ones with special surprises, they are nothing but fun-filled materials to symbolize our love.

3.       Celebrations cannot follow a protocol

     Be it a religious festival or a cultural one, be it a national celebration or international day of significance, festivals cannot be celebrated with a fixed agenda or defined protocol. As we found happiness in our own version of celebration at home, I realized the joy in adapting to the surroundings. Festivals do not validate our methods but provide joy in the process of designing them. From lighting candles in place of traditional oil lamps to watching traditional music videos on YouTube, we created our interesting protocol.

4.       Festivals are virtual too!

    Now while we all agree, nothing can replace the joy of seeing our loved ones or the purpose of any festival is to bring everyone together, we did enjoy an unusual virtual mode of celebration. Encoded within messages, captured by pictures and flowing with videos, as we enjoyed long-distance version of celebration, our phones appeared to be much smarter than before!

Hope many such festivals continue to spread happiness and joy in our world as these feelings do not look at boundaries or stop at any location. They are meant to travel all around- delivering smiles, refilling laughter!

Daylight saving – playing with time!

      ‘Time and tide waits for no man’, we all have been taught about this since childhood and experience it along the course of our life. While this thought shall never change, no matter how many technological advances we bring in or how many breakthroughs we target at, daylight saving is one little exception that forces time to wait!

       As we put an end to daylight saving on 1^st November by switching our clocks back by an hour, we experienced the magic of creating time. At 1:59 am, when our digital clocks shifted back to 1 am rather than moving to 2am, we were about to experience one extra hour in our lives! Though additional set of 60 minutes may appear as a small, little change, my first ever encounter was totally interesting. 

     

      Excited to witness this rather unusual trend, as my eyes were glued to the clock on cell phone, staying awake at such an odd hour was totally worth it. After all, we were about to grab an extra hour for sleeping, anyways! Breaking the stereotype of 24 hours a day, we had 25 hours in our hand.

       Curious about this exciting phenomenon, as I turned to ‘Google’ for all the answers, there was so much to read about. From history of daylight saving to its advantages limited to the past, from controversies about its significance today to its irrelevance in modern times, from undesirable effects on body clock to impact on general life, daylight saving was surely a hot topic; enjoying all the attention.

A look at its birth

    Daylight saving was introduced in many countries of the Northern hemisphere during the summer months, with an aim to make more use of natural sunlight. Implemented in United States during World War I, it soon became a trend observed till date. While its main purpose was to cope with lack of electricity and perform maximum activities under natural light during summer, shifting the clock by an hour ahead proved helpful.

     For almost 8-9 months as the clock was programmed ahead of time, it enabled people to benefit with long days and more light for the evenings. This meant a start to daylight saving, giving 23 hours for the first time when the change was made. The clock was brought back to its original time during fall, putting an end to DST and gifting each one with 25 hours for one single day!

The story today..

      This practice of daylight saving is followed till date, as we run ahead in summer by an hour and come back to the original in fall. Days chosen for the start and end of DST are weekends as this facilitates people to come back to their normal schedule during the week. By pushing ahead 1.59 am to 3 am in summer, we begin our day early and by moving back 1.59 am to 1 am in winter, we enjoy an extra hour.

      With controversies about its significance today, many states among the United States are proposing an end to this practice.

Impact on life

     Wondering about these man-made changes to the natural course of time, made me realize that disturbance to nature can impact life to certain extent.Start to daylight saving appears normal as we are all used to flying speed of time. Shifting ahead by an hour seems usual as time never waits for anyone! It does disturb the body clock to a certain extent as we lose one precious hour of our lives.     

     On the other hand as we gained an extra hour on Sunday, the day appeared exceptionally long. While long Sundays are certainly a boon, an abnormal shift to the clock did leave an impact on the mind. Reminded about this extra time all along the course of day, it was impossible to stop thinking. Change of 60 minutes spelled out an effect when stomach demanded early food!

      Besides this shift of body clock, daylight saving has an effect on machinery in industries programmed for round the clock or staff working on shift basis. While the effect of this comes back to normal after a day, it does involve adjustments. Though network auto-updates this change with cellular phones, laptops and computers displaying the correct time instantly, manual clocks and watches need thoughtful shift.

    If one misses to make this change at the start of saving, it may lead to delay by an hour, with chances of being labelled ‘non-punctual’. While error in the shift at end of daylight saving will mean being ‘overly’ punctual!

      

What it meant to me!

      While debates about the pros and cons of DST are fresh and live in the government, I wonder if the weight-age of my request shall add any value! With 12.5 hours away from people back home, as we have further moved to a difference of 13.5 hours, new adjustments will have to be made. Adding to the already existing chaos, as our off-track comments and messages shall enter into the common group, this daylight saving change may force us to be an ‘outcast’!

       

     Shifting hands of my wrist watch was exciting as it gave me the feel of creating time. Talking about this difference, as my mother mocked us for playing with time, the least I could offer was ask them to shift their clocks as well! 

    Though the real purpose of this DST may have been lost in the long run, this novel experience does add some excitement.

 P.S: Special thanks to my Dad for a long and patient virtual discussion on this DST and mention of my husband for a live one (sorry hubby, not just your wife but even this keyboard refused to type out thanks to you!)