Picture yourself smiling ear to ear with no cares in the world and your heart fluttering with happiness. You feel so light, like a feather soaring high up in the sky. Oh, I am literally living this feeling. While perched on my bar stool and leaning on my kitchen counter, I am inhaling my favorite ice-cream sundae in the world called Gadbad— a south Indian specialty. As I look out through my kitchen French windows, I start wondering how nice it is to be in an elated state of mind. It really makes you feel like the sky is the limit. We’ve all heard proverbs like “Live a little,” “Throw caution to the wind,” and “Carpe diem” to that effect since God knows when. I truly believe that if one were to experience immense euphoria and be truly joyful in life, one must be a little nutty. So, my favorite motto from my personal chapter of life is “Be a little kooky to live happy.”
I was only ten years old when I discovered, by happenstance, the art of kookiness and its effects on your mental state. On one of the summer vacation afternoons, when we had nothing better to do, my two cousins, my baby sister, and I decided to dress up as what we thought to be gods from the Hindu mythology and perform Tandav Nritya: a kind of dance of destruction performed by Lord Shiva when he is angry.
Without understanding the significance of the dance, we were all over my aunt’s front lawn. Gyrating from one end to another, we were flailing our arms and legs left and right like possessed children. Our performance gathered quite a spectacle — children and adults from all over the neighborhood came to see us. Hey, when do you get a chance to see lunatics left free to roam and dance like this in the vicinity of your home?
By the time it was over, we were all curled up on the grass in fits of laughter holding our tummies. It was all too much to take in at once — our enthralling performance, the reception we received, and our state of dress; most of our costumes were strewn all over the grass. The grownups in our home had to carry each one of us inside as were in such an uncontrollable laughing hysteria, and our stomachs were hurting. That memory still brings immense joy to my heart to this day! From that point on, a beautiful friendship started between kookiness and me, and we have been inseparable ever since.
Different kinds of kookiness exist. Mine is in the form of doing random fun things, making light of everything, and joking around.
In the paragraphs that follow I am going to discuss some of the tricks or hacks I have used to become nuttier. Fingers crossed that they will serve you just as well as they have served me, giving me great pleasure and joy, and most importantly, dare I say, immense satisfaction.
Tip #1: be unconventional. Despite being five years apart in age, my sister and I have always had one thing in common, we both like to do things out of the box. It all started one night, 34 years ago, in the middle of watching a horror movie. My sister and I both were struck with ravenous hunger pangs. No, we did not make a sandwich or eat the leftovers from the fridge like any sane person would. Instead, we made flan — also known as caramel custard — from scratch. The funny part is we did not own any conventional baking supplies like a ramekin or an oven proof bowl. So, we improvised and cooked it in a pressure cooker. The result was a delectable masterpiece satisfying the grumbling tummies of two hungry teenagers. Ever since it has become a ritual for my sister and I to dish up desserts after midnight on Saturdays.
Tip #2: do something fun. Most of us take pride in being multilingual, but have you ever created a secret language of your own that, though may sound gibberish, gives you a nice mental kick? To have our own privacy in front of our parents, my sister and I made up a P language. Though it started as a joke, it soon took a life of its own, and we became quite fluent in it. Even though our parents paid no heed to it, it was hilarious watching other people’s expressions as they tried to figure out what language it was. We got such a kick out of the attention we garnered and the bewilderment on everyone’s faces that even today, thinking of it makes me chuckle.
Tip #3: play a good old harmless prank. Over the years I have pranked my husband and son so much so that they have stopped taking me seriously and have honored me with the title of quirky prankster.
For a jokester like me, April Fool’s Day holds a special place. So, when my newly minted boyfriend’s —now husband’s — birthday, was coming up in mid-March, I decided to honor both big days together with a lovely prank. I went out and got the worst looking shirt mankind has ever worn, and wrapped it up nicely. I gifted it to him with such heart-felt sincerity and the right lovey-dovey emotions that he was very touched and promised me he would wear it for dinner that day. This was before he had opened it. I have never seen anyone look so shocked on opening their present as he did. So much so that he looked pained to have to smile and thank me. Bless his heart, he wore it. I held my emotions in place until he wore it to go out for his birthday dinner. Then I burst out laughing. Even though it was a bit too much, at least he had an eventful and memorable day! And so did I.
The thing is, I still have my dull, morose, and pensive moments, I admit. You can control your own reactions and emotions, but you cannot put a cap on the circumstances and the people surrounding you. So, I keep my life interesting by spicing it up a bit — indulging in things that make me laugh and bring me joy. This helps me vent, take the edge off, and allows my mind to relax and chill. A happy mind is a healthy, optimistic mind that revitalizes your spirit, and in turn, enables your body to heal naturally on both physical and mental levels.
So, buckle up friends, and never say “why me” in the face of a difficult situation; say “try me”! Common, live a little, and dare to be a little silly.