in thoughts...

We're all looking for happiness... yet sometimes it can be so near, so simple to achieve, but we let it slip past us...

"Happiness depends on what you can give, not what you get."
Mahatma Gandhi

My friend had her 20th birthday almost 2 months back, and I was wondering what to get her... At our age, its really hard to get a good present for people... You want to give something they are really happy with and really want, but you don't want to burn a big hole in your own pocket... Gosh, and next year's gonna be a big nightmare - everyone's 21st birthdays are coming up... I guess expectations will really shoot all the way up... Anyway, back to where I was at... My friend's birthday almost 2 months back... Sigh, soft toys just don't work anymore... Heck, I wouldn't be elated if people still gave me soft toys... UNLESS they really are unbelievably cute and of supreme quality... Haha...

My friend has been wanting to get more clothes, so I got her a voucher at this place she likes to go to, rather than buying the clothes for her, because I think we have really different tastes in clothes... But this shop is not at some official shopping mall, and they don't usually have people buying vouchers from them, so I designed my own voucher, with my friend being able to keep a portion of the voucher as a keepsake... I had a lot of fun designing and decorating it... And adding in funny clauses in the Terms and Conditions... But it didn't feel like a good enough gift... Vouchers are like money, and I don't like the idea of just giving that... though I did put in effort decorating the money....

So I actually bought materials to sew her something... Her horoscope is Cancer, represented by a crab, and she likes to call herself flowercrab... so I made her a "stuffed" crab decorated with flowers.... It's funny how much fun I had doing it... It was a little bit of a rush, because at that time I was busy preparing for my camp as well as having to meet many people to settle stuff...

And when I saw my friend's surprised look when she saw the presents, everything paid off a second time... I mean, I already had fun preparing her present... I love to surprise her... Sometimes the best gifts are those you didn't expect people to know that you wanted... She did jokingly suggest a voucher from that shop, but she didn't expect that I would really go ahead and do it, because after all, that shop doesn't sell vouchers... Heck, even the lady owner looked at me funny when I approached her to do this voucher thing...

Surprise someone today... pleasantly I mean.... It can be very gratifying....

Here I'll share a poem, but sigh, unknown source again... sorry if I'm violating some copyright thing again... Because I got this through e-mail... so even if sometime ago the poet was known, somewhere along the forwarding the name disappeared, and when it got to me it read "source unknown"...

The Park Bench
The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.
And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"
In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
WIth its petals all worn - not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.
But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And place the flower to his nose
And declared with overacted surprise,
"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.
That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."
The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colours, orange, yellow, or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need."
But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.
I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
"You're welcome," he smiled, and than ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he'd had on my day.
I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.
Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life,
And appreciate every second that's mine.
And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy,
Another weed in his hand
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.