Happiness Everywhere!

Hello Universe 147

Thanks to enthusiastic suggestions from my friends Nipun and Aditi, I was excited to see the new Timothée Chalamet movie “Wonka”. It hit theatres in December and is now out on demand, and I checked it out over the weekend. And boy oh boy, they were right! It’s a fantastic movie!

I have a soft spot for movies that make a case for boisterous optimism even in the toughest of times. Add to it A++ level direction by Paul King (Paddington, Paddington 2), the period-perfect production design (Nathan Crowley, who is Christopher Nolan’s favorite production designer), the fantastic musical numbers, and the earnest performances by all the leads, especially everyone’s darling Timothée Chalamet, and you have a winning movie experience that will leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart.

Go check it out!

Today’s poem is inspired by the beautiful songs in this movie, and is also a spiritual sequel to an earlier poem talking about happiness from almost a year ago:

What Is Happiness?

Alright, poem starts in 3… 2… 1!

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Happiness is such a wonderful thing.
A feeling that picks you up and makes you sing.
A tingling sensation that rouses your soul,
with giddy excitement that you can't control.

Do you think it's missing, do you think it's rare?
Well I'm here to tell you, just look! It's right there.
It always surrounds you, you just have to see,
the universe wants you as happy as can be.

Sure you'll be surrounded with fear and with pain.
Sure there may be loss even more than you gain.
Yes there may be trouble and there may be rain.
Yes times will come when life may drive you insane.

But out in the world everywhere that you look,
there's magic, there's chaos, there's joy that's been cooked.
There's warmth and contentment, there's shelter and bread.
there's people who care for you, all done and said.

There's love in the call of the bird of the dawn,
there's happiness out in this world and beyond.
And I'd even say that there's joy right inside you.
In the toughest of times, it will come out to guide you.

It knows how you work and it knows how you feel.
When things do not work out, it helps you to heal.
Deep in each soul, there is limitless glee,
in the heart of each moment, in you, and yes, in me.

If ever you're broken, or hurt, or destroyed,
remember forever, inside you is joy!
And if you feel tired, bogged down, or just stuck,
then just look around you, there's joy to be plucked.

Happiness is in the people you love, 
in the ground down below and the heavens above.
It's also within you, in your heart and your brain.
Know this and you'll never run out of joy again!

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That’s it! Thanks for checking out edition no. 147 of Hello Universe! Check out Some Fun Stuff below.

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Some Fun Stuff

This is where I share something cool to read, something cool to listen to, and something cool to watch! The underlined words are links that you can click to visit the recommended content.

1. Play one-dimensional Pacman on your browser: This game is addictive and is somehow accessible from a browser, making it even stickier. It’s Pacman at the end of the day. Super entertaining, super nostalgic, super fun. Play it now!

2. Listen to Birds and Smoke by Xinobi: My latest fave, a track that I’ve played on repeat over and over in the last week or so. Super energizing and fun music! Check it out.

3. Watch The Second Punic War by OverSimplified: This series is back after almost a year! Oversimplified dazzled me with its videos on the first Punic war and I featured it in Hello Universe back then, so in case you were waiting for a sequel dear reader, here it is. This time round we get to know more about Hamilcar’s son Hannibal who scored major successes for the Carthaginians in the Punic Wars and is a delightful character himself. This coverage of the second Punic War is silly, delightful, and all in all an education about that time in history. Check it out!

That’s it for this week, see you next Tuesday!