Ever wondered how festivals help us create happiness?
Festivals and festivities foster such a feeling of warmth and joy!
Rituals, sweets, decorations, gifts, decluttering and ushering in novelties create a sense of happiness that we anticipate and look forward to – every single year! Opportunities to connect and reconnect with loved ones make happiness linger longer.
So how do festivals really help us create happiness?
Well, here are few things that come to my mind now amongst the crackers bursting outside my window and lights gleaming.
1. Social connections: Quality of your life is directly proportional to the quality of people you have in your life. Festivities offer opportunities to connect/ reconnect with people we wish to have in our life and meeting/ hearing from them helps us reaffirm the happy bond.
2. Novelty: Why do visits/ shopping excite us? Because we humans crave for newness – be it people, be it places, be it events, be it products, be it new sights. We tend to get bored easily and rather continue to be on a look out for (new) excitement as our second nature. When we wear/ buy new things out of traditions and auspiciousness it serves to uplift our spirits.
3. De clutter: Outer order creates inner calm. Next time you’re a little overwhelmed/ sad just try to fix up the space around you – you’ll suddenly find focus clarity and energy. Traditions like Diwali cleaning offer opportunity to declutter that are good for our mental spaces just as well.
4. Anticipation: Did you know that happiness peaks not when you have it at hands but when it’s close enough to you and you can still wait for it knowing it’s coming. Festival’s – year in year out – promise us that next one will be bigger and better. And that life comes around no matter what.
5. Sweets and gaiety: The pleasant life! Sweets and delicacies & decor and lights enable us to savour happiness at the very fundamental level – where it does not last long but abundance creates moments of happiness in quick successions that we all love.
6. Rituals: Rituals provide discipline and structure to the way of life as we know it. Clearly there’s a logic and reason behind what we do and how we do it and as we align ourselves to the higher powers, we realise there’s something that’s bigger than us and larger than life that guides our existence. Spirituality is closely linked to happiness for a reason.
7. Gifts: Gratitude and kindness at pure play! They are sure, shot ways to become happier – as I often say. Festivals offer us ample opportunities to express kindness, affection, and gratitude.
8. Family: Family is something we all look forward to during festivities and rebuilding bonds with them really enhances a sense of stability and comfort. Combined with Faith it is a strong source of lasting joy.
9. Lights and Brightness: When everything is bright and lit up it elevates our spirits! It builds excitement that does not fade easily! Lights and Diya’s bring in gaiety and help us create our very own ‘hygge’- a place of warmth – to enhance joy in our life.
Of course, looking at your festive best and creating spaces that foster festive spirits adds to everything happier ️️ and that’s how simple it is sometimes to turn a normal day into a festive day!
Go ahead and share what makes you happy during festivals and add to the list!!
