Healthy body, healthy mind!

“To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” – Buddha

Sometimes we are so caught up in the rigmarole of life, that we tend to neglect the well-being of our body and mind. It is ironic that we earn to sustain ourselves and yet we are too “busy” to find time to have a proper meal regularly. In an attempt to get better, I started a regime of regular exercise and proper diet.

I had a vested interest in trying to get better – to be in the “healthy weight” bracket of BMI as per my height and to age gracefully (having read that women tend to “surface” all their fat once they hit 30). It will take longer to know whether I will be able age gracefully, but for the first time ever I am healthy and the feeling has been liberating. It is quite an achievement for me and the thought that people no longer ask me why I am ridiculously thin is liberating.

Having said all that a word of caution regarding exercising – it is crucial that we know our limitations and learn to respect our body. I pushed myself too hard injuring myself in the process. Due to the excessive pressure I put on myself (something my body has not been used to) I injured my patella and illiotibial band and have a few months of recovery constituting physiotherapy and regular orthopedic visits.

Although exercise and diet are a starting point, being physically and mentally fit required much more effort. I made a lot of changes to my life to achieve the change:

• Regular exercises (jogging, walking, cycling, hiking etc)
• Food in-take (variety of food, quantity, frequency etc)
• Eradicate clutter in life (although I am not a minimalistic, overtime I have drastically reduced my “possessions”)
• Time for family and friends
• Tryst with advaitam (non-duality)

I can positively say that a combination of all these factors have helped me become more content in life – I do not always get what I expect, but over time I have learnt to be content with what I receive. As cheeky as it sounds, regardless of all the injuries we will be prone to, we have to make an effort to do our best to protect our body and mind.

Death

Maybe death is the great equalizer; the one big thing that can finally make strangers shed a tear for one another.

One of the biggest side effect to growing old is having to experience the death of our loved ones. The vacuum that we experience when our loved ones die and at times in the most unexpected fashion is excruciatingly painful. I always used to tell myself that I wanted to die before I had to experience the pain of someone close to me dieing or suffering. I guess that is just my inherent selfishness – I know that my death is easier compared to seeing my loved ones leaving me.

There is definitely something about death and we shed a tear even if the other person is our enemy. We contemplate on what the value of life is? We contemplate on what life holds for us. We are scared of the vacuum our loved ones will create. We are not ready to let go and experience that painful loneliness. Death just creates a deluge of emotions in us.

What is it about death that makes it so painful? When we are healthy, we are not even bothered to think of important things and when we are sick (and when it is potentially late), we repent – what is the use of the repentance when we were given numerous chances during our prime to get things right? When our loved ones are around, we are too busy for them and we potentially don’t even give them a second thought – yet when they are gone, they leave a gaping hole in our life which no one can fill.

I am a believer in new beginnings. I strongly believe it is never too late to set things in life right. Let us not wait until it is too late …

Silence

There is a time for speech. There is a time for silence.

The mind is like a can of worms full of thoughts all vying for our attention. In our daily life with all the actions, experiences, feelings and emotions we usually downplay our thoughts and don’t give them our attention.

I took sometime off from everything and everyone (a digital and human vacation) to experience true silence amidst Mother Nature. In the process of silence all thoughts started rising one after another. The deluge of thoughts and the speed at which they appear is completely awe-inspiring. Just observe all the thoughts; ignoring them makes their desire to be on the forefront stronger. Eventually all the thoughts started fading away after having a chance to be on the stage called “mind”. To plagiarize and paraphrase Shakespeare, The mind is a stage and all thoughts are mere players.

Once all the thoughts faded away, there is a strange and unbearable heaviness in the heart. The heaviness eventually also passes by leaving behind a sense of content and the mind is completely still. The inherent oneness that exists in everyone/everything becomes clearer. The sense of distinctness fades away and the beauty of unity becomes clearer.

There is overwhelming beauty all around us – the gentle breeze, the trees, the flowers, the smell of grass and mud just after rain, the squirrels – the feeling of unity even when alone amidst Mother Nature is beautiful. It immediately brings a heartfelt smile that just lasts.

The silence gives me courage to claim the moment, patience to accept what comes and release what goes and honesty to face the future. The challenge is to sustain the feeling of oneness and serenity on a daily basis. Our desires becomes thoughts, our thoughts become actions and our actions shape our future. With the cultivation of a strong desire to be content, life becomes beautiful every moment.

Regret

“I hate regrets” – loved Katrina Kaif’s character in Zindagi Mile Na Dobara.

We don’t know if we’ll live to 40, damn it I don’t even know if I’ll be alive tomorrow :-) Make today count!

Watch a sunrise, watch a sunset, hold your partners hands, hug more, have a triple scoop banana split, cook that special meal, walk bare foot on fresh grass, try something new, make new friends, keep in touch with old friends, laugh often, fall in love …

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

I would much rather have regrets about not doing what people said, than regretting not doing what my heart led me to and wondering what life had been like if I’d just been myself.

Partner

We don’t need someone to make us whole. But it’s just nice to have that one person who you mean something to and feel special.

The Indian figurines from Archies are nice, especially the dress and the flute in the guy’s hand – reminds me of Krishna!

Individuality

I’ve never been able to understand or appreciate why we are so caught up with all the societal norms and don’t nourish our individuality. We all have such different tastes and goals in life and yet somehow everyone is expected to confirm to societal norms some of which were put in place years ago and might not even be relevant in current times.

Just as different photographers see different scenes through the same camera and at the same location – we all see and expect something different from life. We’d be cheating ourselves if we weren’t true to ourselves – at the end of the day we owe it to ourself to be truthful and honest.

I am pretty sure if I lived my life as per another person’s wishes if not today, some day I’ll repent and it wouldn’t be a wonderful feeling if it were too late :-)

If a man is not faithful to his own individuality, he cannot be loyal to anything.

Compassion

I always used to question myself and wonder what I did to deserve more in life compared to the toddler with a baby on her shoulder begging for money or the family sleeping on the platform or a malnourished kid in some remote part of the world or living in constant threat of life etc. I would feel very disturbed especially at the signals when I see the kids.

Good or bad, I don’t feel that disturbed now – I guess I’ve started accepting my limitations in terms of what I can actually do. I am learning to just do my best! :-) I would strongly encourage everyone to think beyond ourselves and look around us to help others – maybe our friends, maybe our relatives, maybe a stranger … it doesn’t always have to be money; it could be time, it could me advice, it could be blood, it could be lending a shoulder, it could be being a rock etc. Personally compassion helps me more than I would expect, at times I am astonished by what I get back.

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.

Life is sacred. Celebrate life. Care for others and share whatever you have with those less fortunate than you.

Courage

The story of the Mumbai blasts makes me feel sad, angry, frustrated, disgusted, depressed all in one go. Someone tweeted “We need to take a good long look at ourselves and see if the word “humanity” is justified at all when we refer to homo sapiens.” And I feel it is so darn true. I hardly seem to meet honest and genuine people these days and it makes me wonder where the human race is headed? Being nice is pretty useless, if we are not bold or don’t have the guts to stand-up for what we believe in even if it means being alone.

Our inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost, destroyed, or taken away. Every person has an inborn worth and can contribute to the human community. We all can treat one another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow toward our fullest lives and help one another discover and develop our unique gifts. We each deserve this and we all can extend it to others.

Death

Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.  Dying, is only one thing to be sad over, Mitch. Living unhappily is something else.

Promises

I give you my hand.

I give you my love, more precious than money.

I give you myself before preaching or law. 

Will you give me yourself?

Will you come travel with me?

Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

I am absolute fan of the book Love Story :-)