Harry Potter: what does a patronus look like?
Professor Lupin: each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it.
Harry: And how do you conjure it?
Professor Lupin: With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory.
Yes, this is the conversation which took place between Harry Potter and his mentor Professor Lupin, when he was teaching Harry to conjure a patronus to protect himself. The process of conjuring as explained by the professor has its origin in the birth of this blog post.
The recent past has been pretty heavy on the heart; my heart, to be precise. Nothing unusual, as that is the manner in which life unfolds before us. There is not a single moment of solace, not a single moment of quiet and not a single moment of stability. Life is just like the waves rocking a boat in the open sea, ride it or sink in it.
In all these trials and tribulations, I happened to chance upon Harry Potter’s quest to ace the patronus conjuring process. Upon reflection, I found out that there are many similarities between Harry’s and our condition in actual life. Just like a patronus needs a single, very strong happy memory to be conjured, similarly, in our lives as well, we require many happy thoughts to keep moving forward.
Ok but how do I generate such happy thoughts and memories, you may ask.
Well, it all boils down to doing things which you actually and truly love doing, meeting the people you love meeting and going to places where you love to go. It isn’t that hard. Follow the heart and see where your heartbeats start to increase, there you shall find happiness.
That’s fine but not everyone gets to do what they truly love in their lives, you may point out.
It is quite true that we have to make several concessions in life but therein lies the essence of this post. The key to happiness in life is doing things which you love and that brings us to the focal point.
At some point or the other, in our lives, we have to start doing things which we truly like to do. Even a single powerful happy memory is enough to annihilate all forms of despair and sadness in one’s life.
So, in a nutshell, it is true that one needs to be practical in their lives and not always go doing things which one loves doing. However, does that mean that you eliminate from your life, such opportunities to gain happiness?
A thought by John Lennon rightly sums up this post.
Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.
When was the last time you conjured up your personal Patronus? ![]()
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Jay what a feel good article 🙂 Very well written !!
Jay amazing stuff….I guess my petronus will be a peacock;)
Good to see you back!
For me, life began post retirement 🙂
Lovely post Jay. I want to read Harry Potter all over again now! 🙂
One should do the things that one lives. One should also learn to love t he things that one has to do. 🙂
If we seek happiness externally, our existence becomes a mere pursuit of things that make us happy. However, we as humans are easily bored, which means we constantly try to find new avenues of happiness. We go through our workaday lives in a state of being that is neither happy nor sad, all the while pinning our hopes on the promise of happiness bore by that thing we love to do. Is this happiness? Or is it just an emotion that triggers the part of our brains that titillates us, increases our heart rate and gives us a glimpse of what it means to be happy.
Happiness is not what we feel as the consequence of our actions. When happiness becomes the cause instead of a consequence, when we don't need a reason to smile, when we impulsively burst into singing a song or doing a little dance, when we find ourselves at a constant elevated state and never have to do something to bring ourselves to such a state.. that is happiness! It is something that has to come from the inside, and it only comes when we are at peace with ourselves, when we appreciate the things and people we have in our lives, when we're not slaves to our emotions.
Nice post Jay 🙂 I pursue hobbies whenever i need to refresh my mood and start afresh.I think about good times and self motivate myself.I thank you for encouraging me to write 🙂
Wonderful thoughts penned here looking forward to more of your writings here 🙂
Richa
Thanks a lot Reshma and welcome to my blog.
Glad you liked the stuff, keep coming back for more 🙂
Thank you for the feedback dude. I'm sure it will be something else 🙂
Keep coming back 🙂
Thank you very much for the welcome 🙂
Oh, better late than never. It's always good to begin and start anew 🙂
Thanks Bushra. Glad that I reminded you of Harry Potter.
Always remember to stay happy 🙂
Thanks a lot Jaish, for sharing your thoughts here.
Indeed, one must learn to appreciate things and situations around us.
Many people get stuck in a vortex trying to sail through this life.
Well, you have aptly summed it up, Keyur.
Indeed, being happy, in its raw form, means all that. However, we have been taught and programed to ignore it and look for the predefined avenues of happiness seeking.
If only, we could devise a better way to live out this life.
Thanks a lot Bhoomika 🙂
It's good to hear that you're pursuing your hobbies as they act as a good stress buster. Keep at it.
I'm humbled to hear that you have continued your passion to write. Don't lose hope and keep going at it.
Thank you Richa.
Welcome to my blog and glad that you liked the thoughts here.
Keep visiting 🙂
Nice post Jay ! Enjoyed reading it 🙂
Nice post ! Very true about Patronus that. Driving away the dementors is after all nothing more than willfully getting into a positive frame of mind. And we all do it one time or the other and the important thing in this, is that its always a choice. One has a choice to be happy 🙂
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