Musings On Life And Everything Else!



I came across this wonderful musing today. It contains a world of wisdom. 

I used to believe that happiness would be a gift, that there would nothing more wonderful than to be happy always. How it makes me chuckle now! For starters, it is impossible to be happy always. If you do not believe me, try waking up with the oath that come what may, you will be happy the whole day, and what you get is a whisper from the Universe - 'Challenge accepted!'. 

It didn't take me long to realize that happiness doesn't come alone. It brings its shadow - grief - along with it. Where there is a wave, there is a hollow somewhere. Where there is a high, there is a low. Where there is a mountain, there is a valley too! 

This realization taught me a very important lesson. More than being happy, it is important to be contented. You can train your mind to be contented and to be at peace. I have been trying to do this since a long time. I would be lying if I say I have succeeded, because this is a life-long training session. Every event, every moment trains me to practice the habit of being poised. Contentment and peace have a big advantage over happiness, in that, they stay with you even during moments of grief if you train your mind regularly to host them.

So yes, for me, not happiness but contentment is the new rich.

And then there is the never-ending quest for inner peace. Listening to inspiring talks, chanting and meditating, reading books that help to calm the mind, avoiding everything that is a detriment to peace (news, movies, books dealing with trauma and grief and so on) - these help to a great extent. But what has helped me most is reminding myself to be grateful for every moment of this fleeting life. Gratitude works wonders for inner peace!

Health is indeed the new wealth! I have had my fair share of visits to hospitals and clinics over the past few years and every time I go there, every time I see people suffering, it burrows deeper into my mind that all the wealth in the world cannot help us if we do not have our health. I follow a basic exercise regime - just movements of neck, hands, shoulders and legs and some breathing exercises (because they are essential for the mind and a healthy mind leads to a healthy body!). I try to include as many veggies in my daily diet as is possible. While I do not claim to be healthy or fit, it definitely gives confidence that I am doing my part for health and fitness. 

Kindness is the new cool. I learnt this lesson at a great cost! I used to think that it would be cool to give it back to people and own my stand, to fight back and not to show any weakness. But an incident where I tried to hold my stand changed my perspective. I tried to be a part of an online argument (a healthy one) but it cost me my inner peace. Every time my cell pinged a notification, my hands shook thinking about what counter-argument I would face now. Something inside me whispered that I am too old for this kind of action. I ended the argument by graciously accepting defeat and the relief it brought was overwhelming and life-giving. 

While this probably has nothing to do with kindness, I feel that in a world where we live more in our online avatars and where most of our interactions with people happen in the social media or in the various communication apps, the basic form of kindness we can show is to not to agitate people by holding on to our own beliefs and doing everything to prove ourselves right. What will we gain by doing it? It is probably easier to fight or argue with people when they aren't face to face. I wonder whether we would be able to hurt someone if that person were facing us. I would like to believe that we won't. 

Kindness indeed is the new cool and it will always be in trend. The world needs more kindness, acceptance, freedom and encouragement. 

Nothing screams "Success!" like inner peace. To be able to repose in the present moment and hold our inner calm will always be our greatest victory.

There will never be a greater wealth than health! Do everything in your capacity to ensure that you retain your good health. It is not about fitness, it is about being healthy. 

Contentment (or happiness) will always be our biggest asset. Whatever way works for you, seek contentment and treasure it always, for it will be the one constant in this terribly unpredictable and uncertain life.

Ultimately, life is tough. But fortunately, so are we. 

 

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