It took me all this time to realize what this means, to really feel that way about life! And now when I have started enjoying life……I know it is true!
Throughout my life I’ve been a big fan of motivational books and speakers. Most of them say this statement repeatedly and I never understood it!
With stress, exam tensions, the thought of making a successful career, handling my personal expectations and at the same time the expectations of so many others……..and other 1000 things on my mind……. How can I treat life to be a celebration? How could I enjoy the small things as well as the big events….. I couldn’t!
Life stops to be a celebration the moment you get tensed about the different things you have to do to keep it moving! Worries about the past, the present and the future, self doubt, low self esteem and lack of confidence makes things worse!
Amongst the many experiments that I keep doing with my life……this 1 has been the most productive of all! And all I had to do was to get off the track, the bus, the race… whatever you call it…… the pace of life that keeps moving us upside down!
Just get off it!
Slow down!
Take a deep breath!
Think about no-one but yourself!
And suddenly after a few months, the roller coaster came to a complete stop! Ohh I was so uncomfortable with the slow speed and then a complete stop? It was insane!
As hard as I was trying to close in on my core, the world was trying to push in to know the why’s, the what’s and the how’s!
This was the 1st time I gave so much of thought to what my soul was saying, what was my heart beating for? As I shun the outside world , the noises reduced and suddenly I could hear myself clearly.
I realized that my soul has always been guiding me, telling me, stopping me…..but I never cared to listen to it attentively! There were too many things too many people were telling me! Backing their theories with stories of success, of making great money, of having a lot of material things in life.
Our head works so much , so cruelly……that we forget to listen to our heart!
Now I realize that all I need to be happy is myself! As long as I can hear my inner voice , there’s nothing to confuse me, nothing to doubt about myself.
Within me I’ve the music that my soul dances to….and that’s what I need to make my life into a celebration!
Ingredients that I added in my life:
Exercises: keeps the body fit and utilizes the energy well!
1. Yoga – it relaxes, takes off all the tensions from the body, mind and soul! Especially saying “ OM ” ..The sound vibrates in the body to give inner peace. Or listen to the sound of a shankha ( just close your eyes and let the vibrations touch your heart…. Its an amazing feeling).
2. A walk- ( preferably with music) : enhances my imagination, helps me think.
3. Dance: the ultimate way to celebrate life is to swing to the beats and let your body do the talking!
4. Music: a mood enhancer , provides me all the food for thought!
5. Drama, films: it’s a food for thought, there is a joy in enacting a character…in being someone else on stage and being appreciated by a live audience!
6. Travel: my choice is to go to forested areas where there is no much tourism. Just sit , close your eyes and listen to the sounds of the birds, the rustling of the leaves and different calls of the animal kingdom!
7. Swim: not in a swimming pool but a fresh water stream.
8. Keep the company of the right people , subtract those who comment and hurt .
9. Consciously try to make the atmosphere around you positive.
10. If there’s anger, frustration inside which you just cannot deal with…. Take your friend, go to a lonely beach/place and shout at the top of your voice. (Its not as easy as it sounds!)
11. Write a blog. Write about how you feel, let people know.
12. Fight for your right!
Ingredients to take off from life:
1. stop the activity that’s most giving tension, stress etc. ( in my case this meant an immediate career change)
2. If being with certain people or going to certain functions bothers you or gives you stress- stop it! Stop going until you are strong enough to deal with it.
3. Don’t listen to what your parents, friends and others have to say the whole time about what you are. Know what you are, and stand for what you believe in.
A thoughtful and thought-provoking post as usual! Some of the stress-busters you mentioned can really do wonders .. at least to me and my mood! Music is one .. and mother nature is the other. There is nothing like taking in the sounds of the forest or the waves lapping the shores at the beach, is there?
ReplyDeleteComing to the actual mind-set to be happy - I think the main thing is to evaluate oneself on one's own parameters - that's another way of saying not to take others' expectations too seriously. I quote from a comment on Kaveeta Kaul's blog when I say that at the end of the day, one should be able to look into the mirror and be satisfied with the person in the mirror!
It's not that one should not be bothered about the expectations of the near and dear ones. Its just that how we manage those expectations, and how we let them affect our psyche!
@ kiran: A thoughtful and a thought provoking comment as usual! :)
ReplyDeletethanx!
@ kiran: ( off the main topic): i just visited kaveeta kaul's blog. and its amazing. thank u for mentioning it! u read some amazing blogs!
ReplyDeleteand that includes me! :)
JSincro, your blog definitely figures prominently on the list of "amazing blogs I read" :)
ReplyDeleteI do scourge a lot for good blogs - most of the blogs I discover are through Desipundit or BlogBharti. Plus, of course, the blogs followed by those whom I follow!
BTW, the rate at which you are churning out new posts, your blog is always among the top of the "I follow" list - so expect lot more people to land up at your blog in the future :)
@ kiran- :) thank u so much!
ReplyDeletebetween, my sis tells me about all the things u do in life! i wonder how u find time to write n maintain ur own blog plus read so many other blogs?
great going! keep up d good work!
I'm glad you have finally realized THE thing ;-). Btw, your post kind of reminded me of Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist". He travels all over the world in search of happiness but finally comes home to find it!
ReplyDelete@ di: my post reminds me of " The monk who sold his ferrari!". both books are on similar lines!
ReplyDeletethe peace and tranquility that we are searching of, is all within us!
:)
food for thought :)
ReplyDelete