My Happiness Project: May

What? It’s the last day of May already! Anyare?! Summer is officially over and school will start in a few weeks time. I am not prepared at all! heehee. Anyway, still I look forward to every end of the month because of my happiness project. It’s fulfilling knowing I have my tasks to do each month. I like it.

May’s happiness project is all about being serious when it comes to play which is the leisure part of our lives. I believe no one is ever old for play, whatever kind that is.

The Happiness Project tasks for this month are:

Find more fun.

Take time to be silly.

Go off path.

Start a collection.

FIND MORE FUN

Like the author Gretchen, I didn’t have a good sense of what I found fun. Relating to one of her Secrets of Adulthood: just because something was fun for someone else didn’t mean it was fun for me and vice versa.

She was right. Seeing my Facebook timeline with updates from people on how they’re living their life and how much fun they’re having sometimes makes me look at my life in a very ungrateful way. Aminin, we always think the grass is greener on the other side. But the truth is, there’s a lot of factors to consider as to why the grass indeed looks greener on that side of the fence. Perhaps the gardener likes watering them more than you do on your side of the fence, metaphorically speaking. I believe we all differ when it comes to what’s fun and life in general. What you need is to do the things that are fun for you.

A friend may look happy on an album she posted of herself partying almost every weekend and immediately, one can feel deprived of that fun especially if that person hasn’t been in the party scene for years. But that person cannot truly feel affected nor deprived if partying and clubbing is not fun for her at all. Agree? That’s what ‘find more fun’ means. To really do something you find fun not something that looks fun from others. Now this made me think. Some things that I like to do I have come to adopt from other people. What I find fun in general is shopping and reading good books, watching my favorite TV series, keeping the house clean and clutter-free, spending a relaxing day at home, beach bumming, road tripping, being in front of the camera and sharing stories and ideas to likeminded people. These things are just simple things that I find fun doing which when compared to what others find fun are more legitimate or credible such as a day at an art museum, doing crafts, gardening and backpacking to Europe or wherever (although that would definitely be fun and I want that) but these aren’t feasible right now in my situation and I don’t think I’ll be as happy compared to what I simply find fun. So I assume finding fun in simple and doable things is the way to go. If you can do fun “adventures” or things you’ve been meaning to try then I guess that’s great but don’t pressure yourself to do fun “legitimate” things just because it sounds more convincing, do fun things regardless if it appears to be a chore or an ordinary thing. What’s important is what you feel when doing it.

I honestly enjoy cuddling and playing with my kids every morning. On a regular day we get off the bed at 10 am. Regardless if we have not cooked lunch nor cleaned the house, I find our mornings the reward I deserve and a time well spent.

TAKE TIME TO BE SILLY

This I have been practicing for a few months na. I’ve managed to really spend quality time with my kids at home. I only open my laptop in the afternoon when my kids are napping as I attend to their needs in the morning, I’m all theirs. I do not officially work until the kids are asleep at night unless it is super urgent. I just check my emails and updates via my phone. As much as I want to let them play on their own because I have a gajillion things to do, (having no maid adds up to the stress that I have to do things on my own) I reprogrammed my way of thinking and decided that I shall dedicate at least an hour to be silly with them. The chores can wait but my kids grow up so fast, I just cannot let the moments pass by.

Living a life ala-USA is hard especially when you live here in Manila. There’s an option to get all the help you need. Since we don’t really want to get helpers from agencies, (we’re still waiting for the referrals from family and friends) I’m basically doing everything on my own. Juggling homemaking and taking care of two kids, being a wife, a blogger is not easy and no joke at all. Thus, I agree with Walt Disney. I thought I cannot do the impossible but turns out I’m having fun doing it.

GO OFF PATH

Nobody wants to be out of their comfort zone. The thought sometimes can make you hyperventilate. It’s definitely a challenge to do so but it is a challenge that I am willing to do. Everyday routinely actions can make you one dull person. Yes, I admit there are times that I feel like a robot and do things day in and day out just because I have to and just because I need to. The adventurer in me has long gone migrated off somewhere remote that I cannot longer retrieve her.

I am a private person. I’d like to believe that an air of mystery is always nice and that the friends you’ve had for the longest time are enough to keep you company until you get old but ironically I’m doing the exact opposite. I am blogging for the world to see. You all know what my kids look like and partly know who I am as I update this blog almost everyday. I also have a new set of friends that I think would be my good friends until I get old and weary. I did go off path. These are my mini-adventures that I have made over the course of time. I’m now training myself to go and create another path for me and for my family to take on. It’s exciting yet at the same time scary. But hey that’s the thing about adventure, the journey itself is worth it.

START A COLLECTION

When I was a kid I was very fond of butterflies. Their transformation from what seems a helpless caterpillar to a blooming butterfly has had a tremendous impact on me. Relate talaga ako with butterflies because I feel that I’ve gone through that phase in my life. I used to collect anything butterfly. Fastforward to 20 years and I have found a new love. I’ve developed fondness on anything owl. Again because I feel like I can relate to it. I am nocturnal and for someone who is Chinese, I have big almond eyes. Yes, very very much owl lang ang peg ko, di ba obvious with my blog’s logo? heehee. Nakaktuwa pa if people remember me every time they see something owl, they’d tag me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter too! Check my social media sites as I post my owl finds! 😉

What I’m trying to say is simple, start a collection. It may not be expensive and you can start by buying one item a year to add up to whatever you find fun collecting. I also find myself collecting (technically) clothes I bought from Ebay (eeep, di na kasya sa closet ko!), and strategically collecting designer bags (because I know I can pass them to Gabbie, I know excuses, excuses). But seriously, start a collection and I promise it’s fun! 🙂