SEC13 WK6: Joyful times are here!

Hey Steemian friends!

Season 13 is over but let’s end it with some joys throughout the year!

👉 Is it important to be joyful? Why?

I've said this in many of my other posts before and I'll say it again, If I want something in this life, that is "to be happy and free". I mean not only me, who wouldn't want to live a joyful life!? So it's a big fat "YES", it is seriously important because those moments of pure joy are the key to a stress free life. When there's joy around us we will have the positive emotions to lead our lives.

👉 Share 3 events that made you joyful this year.

First on the list is witnessing the vibrant Perahera (procession ) in my wife's village. I was kind of on backfoot for visiting this due to the experience I had in my previous attempt. It was in Kandy, which happened to be the biggest procession in the whole of Southeast Asia. The crowd to see the perehara was huge and everything felt total chaos. No matter how hard I tried to peek at the perahera, all I see was just a massive crowd. It was impossible to catch a glimpse of the Perahera that day.

But this time, in the village, it was a different story. Cultural wonders unfolded for a good two good hours without any disturbance and the crowd was much more decent. It might not be just as glamourous as the Kandy Perehara but I loved it and we all had a terrific day as a family.

^{It was a whole new experience for me | These bears we consider as devils}

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Next up, a day with my school friends for a family outing just past the Sinhala New Year in April. When it comes to such gatherings it is really hard to get everyone on same page but after a lot of planning finally we made it happen. More than ten of us are finally in one place after a decade. I hope you can imagine how wonderful the feeling is. A bunch of sports, a few beers and a whole lot of laughter made that day nothing short of fantastic.

^{With my friends}

^{While doing some Sri Lankan version of hide and seek game!}

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Lastly, a family trip to a spot where nature and a river held hands for a perfect day. This day I was fortunate to rediscovered my inner monkey 🐒 climbing trees and making a splash in the river with pure, unadulterated joy.

👉 What are your joyful plans for the last month of the year?

The grand finale awaits after Christmas 🤩 A family reunion that will last a good 2 or 3 days with about 20 cousin brothers all getting together in my village. It's like a flashback to the golden moments of childhood, with cricket, songs, beach volleyball, and even some culinary adventures. Mind you we will not rest but have 24/7 fun sessions during our holidays.

This is a yearly tradition that everyone committed to meeting up because in the end, it's all about family, fun, and creating memories that age like fine wine.

^{My cousin brothers}

Thank you for this interesting contest @steemladies. I would like to invite @tenguhatanga, @crisvera & @morgan76 to participate in this contest.

Thank you.

Peace to all 🙏

^{The cover image has been developed by Midjourney and photoshoped by me. All other images are from my gallery}