Yes they come haunting; the demons; more often than not. To uproot your present reality, remind you of the past scars and sometimes promise you unreal future.
But you can be stronger than you think you are. So spin them around to reinforce your past – good, bad or ugly. Emerge resilient to face the decisions you took and own them. Living up a 100% to your decisions is a myth, so, stay rooted in reality and give yourself a pay on the back for achieving even 50%. Afterall, no one can live in your shoes permanently, save you!
That’s where beauty lies, right? Similarly, being able to enjoy the arts is also a subtle art in itself. Here appreciation stems from the refined taste of the one consuming it – whether it’s by listening, viewing or reading it. Appreciation for art especially the classical forms can be a lesson in patience. Ever yawned while reading a well known classic book and blamed the weird English or slow pace of the storyline – been there, done that.
Try slowing down and seeing through the beauty of how a few carefully placed brush strokes can create a wonderous marvel on canvas. Or how striking co-ordinated notes can bring music to the ears. Or how stringing words together can bring out the emotions in a prose.
It’s about looking beyond the everyday chaos and tuning in beyond the daily noise to be able to find art in mundane. I won’t say it’s refined or acquired taste but prioritization of where one wants to spend their idle time
Or the art of killing time? Allowing your mind to wander and not be occupied with something. Staring across an expanse of blue sky or warmth of your home’s ceiling – not filled with sadness but a subtle warm glow of peace and contentment.
For a working mother like me, such moments are rare and precious. Away from the calling of work or the duty of parenthood, I find myself surrounded by existential questions like ‘What’s my purpose?’, ‘What do I identify as?’ and so on.
To be or not to be?
I now think life’s a journey of such questions stringed around the fielding of daily chores and duties. One can either be a hermit by renouncing it all and answering them or keeping up with the family ties and stealing those ‘me-time’ from all the busyness. There is no perfect answer so choose the one that suits your bill.
Stuck in a rut? Or molded by habits? Disciplined or dull? Stability or Stagnation?
Being in a constant state of flux is inevitable – each day is different and we always have choices to make. You may choose to be a fixated person and a (wo)man of routine yet inflexibility doesn’t yield much good. Like they say a rolling stone doesn’t pick much moss, so staying open to embrace change helps in the longer run.
Black or White?
From a mathematical lens, life’s a complex equation with multiple variables, so choose your constants and keep adjusting for the unknowns. After all going with the flow, never hurt anyone.
Beauty has become skin deep – literally. From injectables, fillers and intravenous infusion of essential ‘skin nutrients’ the beauty business has been booming thanks to ever-increasing standards of beauty and the omnipresent desire to be youthful forever. While it’s an essential for folks in the business of beauty, more and more regular folks are also opting for their dose of vitamins. Either as a means of self love or to stay presentable in their domain of work (read CXO etc). Afterall social media has hyped splurging on oneself as the equivalent of self love – if you can, why should you not!
Get your dose of Vitamins!
So here’s the myth-bursting for poor you who is doing resistance training thrice a week & 150 minutes of cardio, getting the prescribed dose of beauty sleep and eating clean. Yet you are left wondering why your signs of aging aren’t in reverse as those insta-worthy snaps of the modern day celebrities!
Isn’t that a lingering thought on most of your decisions from the past? Had I known what I ‘know today’, I would have decided differently – says the present mind.
Time travel anyone?
But funnily enough we know what we know, and we don’t know what we don’t know. Hence your decision was based on the best information available at that point in time. Even if you had to make the same decision over and over again – the outcome would barely be different! So, it’s just now, comfortably placed in your present that you can romanticize with the fantasy land of ‘What if…?’
Isn’t the purpose of education literacy and awakening of a well rounded individual?
Then why does education even in formative years have to be about scores, grades and marksheets? Is a person synonymous with these or their personality? Does emotional intelligence and well rounded knowledge also account for an individual’s identity?
Scribbling or Creative writing?
Well, yes in a developed world where the goal is to thrive, and no in a developing nation where the goal is to live and make ends meet. No wonder then that the aspirational class in India faces a dichotomous world, balancing their wants with what the society chooses for them. Today’s knowledge workers occasionally pause to think is this enough, where to next? But that’s momentary, the easier, noisier and popular way is to stay part of the race.
The term has become more of a cultural notion than a physiological term. Is this societal norm even relevant in today’s era when females world over want to live more and be more than what their previous generations had access to. If one’s looking to maximize their potential both personally and professionally, then it’s time to question the status quo, dismantle any self-imposed constraints and definitely not give any headspace to conforming to conventional norms.
Burnt out or lit up?
All of that calls for courage, bravery and a sense of street smartness to forge your own path. Awareness of aiming to be stronger than who you think you can be and constantly pushing the boundaries is what’s imperative to live life on your town terms.
Afterall a clock is to guide us in utilizing our time on this earth well, but a lock makes us a prisoner of time. So listen to your guts wisely 🙂
A high intellect or IQ is directly linked to success; it is celebrated as the guarantee of victory and flashed as a sign of possessing the rare ability and access to all things good in life. But it may come with its own perils. A higher intellect makes one more prone to analyze deeply and conclude with the left brain. It can come in the way of being soft-spoken, light-hearted and ‘go with the flow’ nature. Craving for deeper conversations, stimulating discussion and diverse views; the poor soul may always feel lonely even in a crowd. His intellect can come in the way of having a ‘good time’ chilling with a beer in a hand and talking about the mundane stuff of life. Personal relations may be at risk of being treated as less than perfect and a ‘personal project’ with room for improvement. While professional goals might be fleeting, unfulfilling or ‘way to easy’ to pose an intellectual challenge. All this said and done, there are always exceptions.
To good for one’s own self?
While it’s not wise to disown one’s intellect, it is always good to be cognizant of it’s weight and interference in one’s life. Afterall awareness leads to awakening. But what is awakening without action. Hoping for this path to light up your journey of working on one’s core.
‘Youngsters these days are getting influenced by the Western world’ said every generation ever. Familiar isn’t it?
But in an increasingly global village with multinational work spaces and progressive organizational structures, it is a no-brainer that one is required to be a global citizen. To be able to interact with multiple cultures, be recognized as one of them and pickup cultural nuances and references, it requires not just to study but also to ape the same. & understanding is very different from agreeing; so not mincing my words here; one needs to be able to grasp, process and acknowledge (not necessarily internalize).
Game of life!
However every generation in a developing nation tries to build its own future and thereby brings economic progress in the nation’s fabric by living a life of duality. Caught between the local and the global, the folk and the foreign, the day-job and post work life. They work furiously in the day adapting to western mannerisms, language and even dress up to play the part. While life after the day’s job is over is spent in comfort food, dressing and soaking up content in the local dialect. Thus the commuter culture which shifts gears effortlessly from what they grew up as kids and what the adult life has shaped them to consume. Those who adapt prevail better than those who don’t. So the next time a youngster brings a ‘western Point of view’ at work or otherwise, remember we all have been there done that!
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