Surprise: You were always invited to your relative’s and distant relative’s marriages and engagements, you somehow managed to miss them with excuses of work and lack of time. After a period of time, they stopped inviting you. You were glad at first but now miss the feeling of having the entire family around you. So, what to do? - Surprise them by dropping in at their places with sweets and gifts, without your mom forcing you. The expression on their faces will be priceless.
Forgive: Holding grudges against your loved ones, negatively affects both of you. When you live with the feeling that someone has wronged you, you are holding on to the pain. This will keep you from truly moving on. So if you cannot bring that person back in your life, forgive that person and set yourself free from the situation. Now, you can really enjoy the joys of life and spread it to others too.
Acts of kindness: It is good to receive but it feels even better when you give. You don’t have to be extravagant, just thoughtful. Yes, helping your wife in work, fixing the old radio your dad wanted, buying your watchman new shirts also counts. Give with an open heart and see how much happiness you spread…
When we spend Diwali with our families in comfort, there are many others who aren’t that lucky. Sending sweets to orphanages, spending time in old age homes, and donating a part of the money you want to splurge on yourself; will really mean a lot to them. You will yourself feel satisfied and content, a feeling your ‘new jeans’ will never give.
So this Diwali, take the first step, bring your friends and families distanced from you, closer. Festivities will be doubled when those close to us are with us. Diwali will seem much brighter and greetings more genuine when they come from our dear ones. The forwarded mails that urge us to tell our close ones who how much they mean to us, often get ignored. It’s time we pay heed to the advice, no matter how difficult it may seem.
