International Day Of Happiness: 5 Small Gestures That Will Bring A Smile To Your Parents' Face
Happiness is something that has a positive connotation. Happiness can include feeling content or just feeling joy. We can cultivate happiness by doing things we enjoy, by socialising, practicing self care, being with loved ones or by simply taking care of our elderly parents.?
As we get older and have things to manage, we might forget checking on our parents. So, here are 5 tips that you can do so that you can make sure that your parents never feel alone or sad.
Regular Communication
Visiting your parents or calling them regularly if they live far away will help increase their happiness. Even if it is a short conversation, the main thing that matters is calling them so they don't feel like they don't exist.
2. Spending quality time
Spending time together with your parents is also a good way of increasing their and your happiness. Watching a series or movie together, a get-together, or just going out somewhere where you're spending time together can help a lot.
3. Help with daily tasks
You can also help them to do daily tasks like cleaning, taking care of potential problems in their house, getting things done for them or making them a cup of tea/coffee. Even though this might seem like a short task, this can help.
4. Listen and empathise
Listen to the concerns, stories and emotions your parents have. Sometimes, they merely need someone who can listen to them. The key to effective listening is to hear mindfully without any opinions.
5. Accompany them to the doctor
It's important to keep a tab on your parent's health and accompany them to the doctor. Showing gratitude and affection to your parents will help a lot if they are ailing.?
Other things to cheer them up sometimes is to help them buy things they want or say a simple "thank you" or "I love you' when they do something for you.
Is happiness something that we should constantly be looking out for?
The answer to this is a yes and a no. Looking for a change is good, but looking for an idealised version of change is not good. If someday we do get happiness and it is not like our version of happiness, it is possible that we might feel disappointed and disheartened.? ?
