Seven years!

Sometime before seven years, I had a thought to create a blog space. When I don’t even know whether I could write creative content on a regular basis or anything much about writing at all.

The tiny thought was put to back shelf consciously so many times. Yet it floated up top and grew a tiny bit every single time. And at some point it became the constant humming in my mind, when it had nothing immediate to work out.

I would like to say that the name was just random. But it would not justify the number of hours I spent searching and analysing my thoughts and random browsing for the name to pop up from something or somewhere.

It did pop up when I came across chaos theory and I preferred the term butterfly effect to chaos theory. Then it made me realize that whatever I might write, I would like to leave behind a happy feel to the reader and if possible, spread it beyond. And thus the term RIPPLES came to be the name of my blog.

Around the same time, I came across the story of Aadhirai and one glimpse made me realize that’s who I’m going to be.

I started the new journey into blogosphere on a New Year, seven years ago. This seven years I’ve grown from a newbie into much more and I’ve a very long road ahead of me.

I once read that, if you’re friends for seven years of life, you will most probably be friends forever ahead. And people around has proved that it doesn’t take years to become great friends. Just the same wave of thoughts on some level is more than enough rather than years and years of togetherness.

I wanted to create a ripple which would spread beyond my reach to spread positivity and when I look back, I do know that I’ve created few ripples which I’m happy to be part of.

The things for which I was confident led me into translation and editing. But once I started looking, I realised how unqualified I’m on both fronts. And same goes for writing. And thus the non-stop writing of a post a day stopped eventually.

Also, I realised that my content is better when I write just for the sake of writing rather than for any other reason. And when I heard the following story, I stopped bothering about writing at all.

Once, there was a poet and a girl fell in love with him for his thoughts and writings. Eventually they married and were living happily. But his writings ceased and she was constantly asking him to write about/for her. He could not bring himself to write anything worthy at all. Years went by and she was forever disappointed in his lack of poetry, though they were immensely happy in life together. One day she died and it felt his happiness had been taken away from him forever. And that’s when he started writing again.

The lack of absolute happiness paved way for creativity and when living is really that happy, it is true that the need to preserve thoughts vanishes. I can vouch that as I’m that happy now and I couldn’t bother myself to write about it.

I want to share my happiness and spread cheer all around and hence I might come back and visit you all at times and at the same time, never bother to force myself to write.

Hence, this blog is going into conscious hiatus rather than my often repeated, “I’ll try to be more active and write more.”

If you’re here, believe me, you’re one of the reasons I’m really happy today. For those amazing friends, I got around here and for those silent readers… Please do take up a smile and do spread it around…

Keep smiling…

For that’s the curve that can straighten up this universe into happiness! 😊😊😊

Your smile!

அணிந்த பொன் நகையின் அழகு தோற்றது..
நீ அணிவித்த புன்னகையின் முன்னே..

The beauty of jewels were a shade dull,
Compared to the smile you made me adore..

To my dearest readers..

Time flies or crawls for the same period depending on what you are measuring it with.

Just awhile back, I was heaving a sigh, for a particular memory of few months back seemed to be very distant. But here I am writing my 300th post and have successfully kept up my new year resolution so far.

For the past few days I almost skip to post anything, I was not even inclined to throwback my old posts or polish those drafts and hit publish. It was so easy to take away the thought of posting anything on blog. And it is surely reflecting in my past few posts.

The one thing that had me and still pushing me to hit the publish everyday is the notification.

I have realised the easiest way to get followers and boost the stats is to devote time in exploring other blogs and the best advertisement for any blog is in the spontaneous comments that you leave across other blogs. It is indeed a very simple proportion. The more you give, the more you get.

But, I have been getting new followers almost everyday and most of them are not ‘follow-back’ followers. While few follow and disappear, few take the follow seriously and leave likes / comments.

Though I have been regular in posting, I have been a very poor follower myself and hardly interact with my fellow bloggers beyond my blog. This is one serious regret I have and I might even dedicate next year just for actually following other blogs.

While I would bother about them next year, let us come back to the present.

I have few wonderful posts to my credit and I will not shy from accepting the praise on those. As well I do acknowledge myself, I have been giving random senseless posts too. They are the forced / last-minute posts, posted just for keeping on blogging.

I do appreciate each and every blogger’s support and trusting me to get-over the crappy posts and publish few more nice posts. Ripples will continue to cause ripples, just for those few kind hearted ones. Thanks is an inadequate words to say to you people.

Do take a bow from me and kind smile for you and some more smiles for you to pass on.. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Happy Blogging!

More smiles!

Beware of what you say! It might come true!!

And something I was joking about has come true and I am seriously super excited and baffled and what not.. 😀

Want to know what’s up?!

Am bound by the unbreakable vow for the next eight days and so just keep waiting, just like me.. 😉 🙂 😛 (I know I am evil in that way :Devilish Grin:)

Actually there is more than one reason to wait for the 16th and there is gonna be an super-excited girl roaming around till then.. 🙂

Am all smiles and here are a few for you to take and spread the cheer around!

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Smile!

I know I have been postponing all my awards’ posts and I should have at least added a ‘No Awards Policy’ to safely escape. (I could hear your mind voice saying, lazy girl.. But…. Fine.. Let me face it, yes I am lazy for award posts and the reason I say to procrastinate it every time is ‘I can’t tag few and not tag others’.. Yup, a very silly excuse.. But that discussion is for another post and another day)

But I couldn’t resist this happiness tag like other awards. The Tag is so cheerful and why not spread a smile with it?! Thanks to Ms. Alamelu for successfully getting me to finish up a tagged post.. 😉

All I have to do is list 5 things which make me happy and 5 songs which make me happy. (Yes, we could ignore the tag 5 people to continue part, which I am not going to do)

What makes me happy?

  1. Appreciation
    A word of sincere appreciation for a work I did without drawing attention to anyone.
    Thanks for noticing those tiny details. 🙂
  2. Friends
    (No, I am not talking about the TV series. Yes, it is supposed to make you happy from what I have heard and I am yet to experience the ‘FRIENDS’ effect)
    But I have got few great friends, who are great in pulling the leg to keep me grounded as well as give me a push to get me back to my feet.
  3. Making someone happy!
    See you smile makes me smile. The simple act of spreading smile is underrated. Please don’t neglect that!
  4. My Stats
    I would be lying if I say like-a-saint that I am  unaffected by the figures rising up and for those sweet notifications pop up to remind me of my milestones.
  5. Completing something
    Being the lazy person I am, I stick to very few things till completion and those things are always a reason for my happiness.

What songs make me happy?

This is lot tougher than the previous one. For how could I restrict to just five songs?! Still listing the first five that pops up!

  1. Chinnanchiru Kiliye Kannamma
  2. Chippi Irukuthu muthum irukkuthu
  3. Aananda yaazhai meetugiraai
  4. Oru Deivam thantha poove
  5. Unakenna venum sollu

All songs are in Tamil and the links direct you to complete details, video, lyrics and translation of the songs.

I would like to change the tag to continue to the following.

Please do comment the first thing that strikes your mind when you hear the word – smile.

If nothing comes up, let me know of at least one thing that crosses your mind when you hear about me / my blog.

Whether you comment or not, don’t forget to collect your smile from here! This is a genie that replenishes continuously, so take as many as you would like!

😀 🙂 😀

The smile of Friendship

முகநக நட்பது நட்பன்று நெஞ்சத்து
அகநக நட்பது நட்பு. (786)

muganaga natpadhu natpandRu nenjathu
aganaga natpadhu natpu.

A smile on the face does not make a friendship;
a smile in the depths of the heart does. [Couplet 786]

Since I don’t want you to be distracted from the beauty of this couplet, no explanations for today.. Have a great time ahead!

Spread the smiles!! :)

Have you ever received a surprise gift, but failed to smile?
Can you even hide the joy of that receiving from your face in the first few seconds of receiving?

And can you explain that why?

If you could explain that, I might find the reasons why I blog in it.. 😉
For it’s the simple joy of surprise to me, when I could string together few words in a certain order..
And when I read back, I do enjoy the flow and there is some sense of accomplishment in it..

The wonderful drug of acceptance and appreciation, is not being wasted on me..
They nourish me, helps me grow and feel confident in myself..

I started blogging to express..
Now I’m blogging to experience..

I had no expectations or even today have no goals for my blog..
But the time here is wonderful and addictive..

Oh now my dear long time followers must be wondering why am I saying all this now, as in repeating what I’ve written in my about pages and few past posts..

Today something happened..

I have this habit of writing notes to my very close friends on every special occasion possible.. But only one of them returns the favour in writing notes to me, while others express in their own ways..

Today I got a hand written, heart felt, thank you note, from someone..

Is that all for a simple note? No.. It’s the gesture and reason for that note..

A very simple act of kindness, which costed me nothing, which I did, simply just because I could, and the help was sincerely accepted and appreciated to what it deserves and a little bit more..

When someone takes the time to put down pen to paper actually, it does mean a lot..

And there is another happiness in this event to the sender too.. It’s the happiness of making someone happy..

To see a bright smile lighten up in the face of receiver is multiplied when we are the one who planted that smile..

Not only mercy is twice blessed, even gifting and gratitude is twice blessed..

So what this has to do with my blogging?
Here is a thank you note from me, to you, the reader..
For just being there and showering me with happiness.. 🙂
Because, this ripples is just a set of reaction to the drops in this lake.. And hence I’m nothing without your visits and drops.. 😉

Let me plant a smile on your face to brighten your day, and let that ripple forward with ripples of laughter.. 🙂

Keep Smiling.. 🙂

Illuminate the darkness!!

When life happens, it drags along with it fun, happiness and even stress..

The more the merry and happiness, we cheer, enjoy and cherish those moments and keep them stored in memory for it to linger over time..

Hence it’s natural, that we exhaust ourselves, when we face negative emotions and find it hard to get over it..

There are ways to push out that stress.. The more the outlet, the easier it is to de-stress ourselves..

But is it just enough that we de-stress? Is that the end of the chapter of that stress? Is everything back to all cheer and good with it?

Phew.. The answer is no.. Nope.. Never..

Once you wipe out the stress, it just becomes empty.. As we would realise soon, that idle space is taken up by devil for his insanity workshop.. And this workshop churns out insanity, self defamation and obviously more distress non-stop..

So wiping out stress alone is not enough.. What else to do?

Instead of bothering to wipe out the stress, place something good and happy or just something you are so passionate about..

In simple terms, when you are busy loving, you don’t have time enough to hate..

Keep the stress in control by letting loose all controls of happiness, laughter and passion..

For life is not lived in the count of days, but in the days that counts in life…

ஆதிரை ~ Aadhirai