Books, the start of a new journey!

Of all the many things that I like to do and give me happiness, is a voracious appetite to devour books, buy books and read them, make notes from them, and the like. And I have so many books, a lifetime is not enough to read all of it. But I still buy more. And I don't mind hoarding them. It is a weakness, I admit. And the start of this initiative was also inspired by the purchase of the book, 'The Happiness Project', by Gretchen Rubin. 

And on the same day that I bought a few more books that were on clearance sale. Just the thought of getting books at cheaper than list price can spur some to buy, and buy more. And so did I. One of the books I bought was 'Work a little less, Live a little more' by Mark McKeon. 

A book is your companion! Buying a book is the start of a new journey! Where that journey will take you, and how long it will take, and will it be desirable and enjoyable, depends! But it's a journey, nevertheless! 

The box of pins

The first thing I needed to do, was de-clutter my life. I've resolved to do this several times before but somehow my basic nature was to thrive in chaos, and sometimes barely survive. My office table, for example, is in a state of mild distress. Part of it comes from procrastinating, delaying decision on a certain document. But the other major reason is that I'm a hoarder, wanting to hold on to things, whether or not they are of immediate, or even long term use. I like things, and I like to keep things. 

There is this cute little box of board pins on my table, and its been here since the last two years. I haven't used one of it, because the 20 odd pins on my board are sufficient for what I have posted on it. And if I require more, I can always ask my secretary and she'd be glad to give me a few. Then, why in the world am I hoarding it? Not that it can be used by me elsewhere. It looks cute, but has no functionality at all; for me, at least. So, I decide to get it out of sight. Someone else will surely find good use for it. 

All of my life, I've been keeping these small little things that look very desirable and beautiful but have no use whatsoever. What I hoarded, rusted or perished, and I had to then dispose it. But till the time it occupies physical and mental space. This is a mindset that I have to change. Admitted that I'm not a compulsive hoarder, but if things could be better, then why not change! A little less is better than a little more. 

The Happyness Project

This is my happiness project... spelt 'happyness', inspired by the movie 'The Pursuit of Happyness', and also because the other blog-site had been taken. I happened to see this book called 'The Happiness Project' in a Borders sale at 1MontKiara, and I immediately took to it. I had seen this book before but I took some time to go through it now. 

It is written by Gretchen Rubin where she talks about how she took an year out to find and pursue happiness in her life. Not that she was not happy, but she felt it could be better. So she set about getting her priorities reset. The book is arranged month by month and each month is dedicated to a certain kind of pursuit. 

Since it was the 1st of June, I went to the chapter on June and found that it was on 'Friendship' and setting time aside for friends. There was no way I was not buying this book. It was paperback and very small print, and I would've preferred bigger font, but the stuff is what matters. I didn't even stop to consider whether the books was available in ebook format, which I could buy online. It had to be bought and I did. 

I read through the introduction, the chapter on getting started, and found that that the reason why she had written this book, after embarking on a personal journey to find more happiness, was something I could relate to, something I wanted to do myself. And after I got the book, I started this blog to chronicle my journey. And I hope and pray that the journey is as exciting as it promises to be!