How to be Happy: 'Madness'

The other day, I baked naan with my child.

We kneaded the dough in a bread machine,
shaped it into balls,
let it rest for a bit,
then stretched and baked it.
We brushed it with clarified butter right after baking, and it was done.
The shapes were lopsided, but it was happiness.

But then, I suddenly wondered,
'Why am I so obsessed with naan?'
If I just wanted to eat curry, rice would have been fine.
The naan I buy at the supermarket is delicious enough.

But when I try to make naan,
a voice from within my heart starts to whisper from nowhere.

'Use higher heat.'
'Don't skimp on the clarified butter.'
'Are you sure that's the right way to stretch it?'

The 'naan artisan' inside me starts to make a fuss.

Even though I didn't even know clarified butter existed until yesterday, today I can't help but obsess over the authentic way to bake it.

When people get absorbed in something, they become a little strange.

But that 'strangeness' is what makes life interesting and happy.
People who pursue what they love.

People who take photos of flowers every day.
People who study the same work for decades.
People who keep cooking until they are satisfied.
A level of intensity that makes others think, 'You go that far?'

I would like to affectionately call that 'madness'.

Of course, it is not the kind of madness that hurts others.
It is the kind of madness where you love something from the bottom of your heart, become absorbed in it, and lose track of time.

Such time is very luxurious.
It cannot be measured by efficiency alone.
It cannot be explained by profit or loss.
But that intensity is what makes life interesting.
Lately, I have been looking up flower meanings, reading books, thinking about human happiness, and writing these articles.

'Why do you try so hard?'

If someone asked me that,

'Probably because I'm a little mad,' I would answer.
But thanks to that madness and the naan artisan inside me,
every day is fun.
I believe that happiness is not about living a life that looks correct to everyone else,

but about having a little bit of madness inside you,
to the point where others might not quite understand.

Today's flower: 'Heliotrope'

The flower language is 'devotion' and 'eager desire'.

Heliotrope was named for the way it blooms while facing the sun throughout the day.

People who are absorbed in something are somewhat similar.

Rather than caring what others think, they naturally turn toward what they are truly drawn to.

That attitude might sometimes make people wonder, 'Why go that far?'

But being able to love something that much is a very happy talent.

What was something you were once absorbed in?

A book that influenced me in writing this article

'Challenge the Poison Within Yourself' / Taro Okamoto

'Instead of living a safe life by following common sense, be honest about what your heart truly seeks.'

Taro Okamoto throws such a powerful message at us.

To be so absorbed in something that others might not quite understand. To be able to say, 'I do it because I love it,' rather than for profit or loss. That passion might sometimes be called madness.

But this book taught me that it is precisely that madness that becomes the driving force for living a life that is uniquely your own and happy.
I highly recommend it.

I have also compiled other 'ways to be happy' flowers
at the link below.
Please take as many as you need 🍀

Thank you for reading until the end.
I hope to see you in another article.
🍀 May you be happy 🍀