A chocolife.

A lot of people ask me “What does chocolife mean?”. Well here’s the answer…

It’s the life that gives me happiness and contentment.

It’s really hard, while you’re busy withering the storm of every day life, to see things with real perspective, to know what’s important and what is it that you really want from your life.

We have work to pay attention to, people emailing us for information and requesting action, we have phone calls and visitors and a long to-do list and a million chores to run and all of the million errands of our daily reality … and yet, what is important?

Ask yourself this: if you suddenly found out you only had 6 months to live (for whatever reason), would the thing in front of you matter to you?

Would those 20 emails waiting for a response matter? Would the paperwork waiting to be processed matter? Would the work you’re doing matter? Would the meetings you’re supposed to have matter? Would a big car and nice house and high-paying job and cool computer and mobile device and nice shoes and clothes matter?

I’m not saying they wouldn’t matter … but it’s important to ask yourself if they would.

What would matter to you?

For many of us, it’s the loved ones in our lives. If we don’t have loved ones … maybe it’s time we started figuring out why, and addressing that. Maybe we haven’t made time for others, for getting out and meeting others and helping others and being passionate about others. Maybe we have shut ourselves in somehow. Or maybe we do have loved ones in our lives, but we don’t seem to have the time we want to spend with them.

When was the last time you told your loved ones you loved them? Spent good quality time with them, being in the moment?

For many of us, doing work that matters … would matter. That might mean helping others, or making a vital contribution to society, or creating something brilliant and inspiring, or expressing ourselves somehow. It’s not the money that matters, but the impact of the work. Are you doing work that matters?

For many of us, experiencing life would matter — really going all out and feeling the beauty all around us, finding passion in our lives, seeing the world and traveling, being with great people, doing amazing things, eating amazing food, singing, playing.

These are just a few ideas … but what would matter to you?

Its important that you spend at least a little time, and regularly think about this question … figuring out what really matters, finding what makes your chocolife… and start living it.

Because while you might not have only 6 months to live, you really do only have a short time to live. Whether that’s 6 months, 6 years or 60 … it’s just the blink of an eye.

The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it. Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now. Live your chocolife.

:)

Book Review : P.S. I Love You

A nice plot; a not so nice execution.

The book is about grieving and healing and subtly brings to fore the importance of relationships and the power of love in life.

The plot is really good but I personally feel that Cecilia Ahern could have paid more attention to the emotional bonding between Holly and Gerry (through his letters) – rather than focusing on the lives of everybody around Holly. The book starts off really well, you loose the plot midway with a lot of characters coming in and the story-line becoming a little predictable, but Cecilia manages to grab the attention to end it on a high.

There are moments where you want to laugh with Holly, moments where tears just well-up in your eyes and moments where you drift into memories of the Holly / Gerry in your life.

Plot: Good
Writing Style: Trite and Mediocre
Recommendation: A good read for the romantic-at-heart



Choco Rating: 3.5 / 5

The Simple Pleasures that make my Choco Life

Heres a few moments that make my choco life complete...

Enjoying the sound of silence
Cuddling up and watching a DVD with a loved one
Smell of the first rain
Time alone with a good book
"Life" converstaions with my best pal
My hot cup of tea on a cold day
Going home to a well made bed after a hard day's work
Succumbing to a mid-afternoon nap
Waking up to a clean uncluttered room
Spending time with my family without having to bother about work
Letting a freshly made chocolate chip cookie melt slowly in my mouth with my eyes closed
Watching the sun rise
A hug when i need it
Dew on the grass in the morning
Watching my bro become an achiever in life
Laughing so hard, tears come out of my eyes
Looking into the eyes of a dog when i cuddle it
Going at a 100 kmph on an empty highway
Getting homemade gifts
Splashing in the rain
Going on a roadtrip to nowhere
Being able to cry when i need to
Going back home after months into mums loving arms
A smile from a loved one
Immersing myself into my Xbox all night long
Calvin & Hobbes
Waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside my window in the morning
Getting a call from a loved one, just when I need it
Feeling true love in the eyes of that someone special
Listening to my mums laughter over the phone
A good game of football
Sitting and smiling for no apparent reason
A warm shower after a hard and tiring day
The feeling of being loved and wanted
Listening to the sound of the waterfall
Lying on the bed, watching the fan go round... thinking about my choco life :)

Acknowlegdments:
Hey SB... thanks for inspiring me to do this. And to everyone whos played a role in my choco life. Cheers.