Friday, August 1, 2014

Happiness is a place in your heart

There is something from my childhood that I remember of my late paternal grandfather. He was a classic Sharchokpa village man. Every evening we had to go and look for him and find him in different places. He would have walked away during the day to look for some Ara (Bhutanese sake) and to look for someone to chat with. Wherever we found him, he would be there, on the floor, with people around him, happily chatting away, little tipsy but extremely content and happy.

I think I have inherited some of his genes although he was not my biological grandfather. I have perfected the art of being content wherever I am - whether it is in Thimphu, Kanglung or San Francisco.

I am in Delhi now and relishing the few days I have in this city - wading through book stores, visiting some cultural events at the Habitat Centre/IIIC and having coffee meets in Khan Market with my friends from the Indian media and universities.

In other words, wherever I am, chances are you would find me happily chatting away and, of course, very content - minus the Ara, obviously.

The secret, I guess, is that true happiness is a place in your heart, which obviously travels with you and you will find peace, love and happiness wherever you go.