{K} is for KISS

Did you kiss today? How often do you kiss? How many times a day? Or is it once in a while? Or once a fortnight? Oops! Am I being too intrusive? Well, here’s a thing; this kiss is not the one that you plant on someones lips or cheeks! This is that one kiss we forget to base our lives on.

I learnt this lingo early in my life, during my advertising days, and thereafter I try and live by it. Sometimes I fail, but mostly I get there fine.

This one KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid. The acronym was coined by Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works (creators of the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes, among many others). The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. The principle is best exemplified by the story of Johnson handing a team of design engineers a handful of tools, with the challenge that the jet aircraft they were designing must be repairable by an average mechanic, in the field under combat conditions with only these tools. (Source: Wikipedia)

The KISS principle when applied in our lives works wonders too. The more we simplify our lives, the easier it is to live day-to-day. This applies to ourselves, our relationships, our children, our work, say if we are writers, our writing too. The simpler, the better.

 

My neighbour Raina’s daughter is nine and she goes for almost five different classes in a week. A skating class, a basket ball class, a ballet class, a piano class and a Kumon (math) class. The child looks over burdened and glum. She is never playing downstairs with the other children, as every evening she has to rush for some class or the other. Even on weekends she goes for her classes. I wonder what Raina’s end goal is? To turn her child into a jack of all trades and master of none. So easy to complicate our lives, right?

My friend, Nikki’s son was dating three different girls, two from work and one happened to be his sister’s friend. When they all found out, he was not only dumped unceremoniously, but got beaten by one of the girl’s brother’s. Now I wonder why he didn’t KISS and make his life less complicated.

There is also Sukanya, who is a fashion designer from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M. and then a tutor from 2:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. Thereafter she dons her baker’s hat, as she runs a baking company too. Sukanya has a family that includes two rowdy boys, one cat, a huge golden retriever and an ugly, little crocodile fish. Her husband travels most parts of the month. Every time I meet Sukanya, she looks overwhelmed and ready to break down. What’s the point making so much money, when you can’t find time to unwind and enjoy your life, I feel. But Sukanya continues to complicate her life and not KISS.

There is also Randeep. He travels twenty-five days in a month. He is a middle-aged, bachelor. On the other five days when he isn’t traveling, he parties back to back and even when he is traveling he wakes up at 4:30 A.M. to tee off. He says that’s how he is able to network and expand his business. Randeep recently had an angioplasty and has been advised to take bed rest and slow down. I wish he knew how to KISS! And KISS well. *wink*

KISSing is good for health. It increases your heart beat and gives you a fresh lease of life and smaller goals to live by. Do give KISS a chance. Share on X

Do you KISS? Or do you complicate your life, and that of those around you? It’s worthwhile to live a simpler life purposefully, than a complicated one with many layers and baggages. In today’s modern times we are inundated with desires, aspirations, technology and social media that tend to clutter our mind space. How often do you take time to focus on what’s important and what’s not? It’s better to do a few things, and to do them well.

KISSing is good for health. It increases your heart beat and gives you a fresh lease of life and smaller goals to live by. Do give KISS a chance.

 

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My theme for this year’s Blogging from A-Z Challenge is April Anecdotes. These are twenty-six compelling tales of some real people, and some not so real people. These tales will be surreal, peppered with a dose of non-fiction, but some might just be a figment of my over active imagination. You can read my theme here.

You can read my previous posts from #AtoZChallenge2018 here:

A is for Anachronism or Misplaced in Time?

B is for Burden or Unburden?

C is for Control

D is for Destiny’s Child

E is for Enchantment

F is for Far from the Maddening Crowd 

G is for Goblins, Gnomes and Gypsy Spirits

H is for Heart, Mind and Soul