After the lockdown…what is the one thing that you will do differently as an individual?
It could be
– reducing the consumption of one time use plastics
– continue to help with household chores
– buy more from local vendors etc etc..
The point is – are we going to do anything different after this experience or will we be back to our older ways and that too with vengeance.
So what is it that you will change in your lifestyle?
Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was not happy at all. One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; Why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy?
The King asked the servant, ‘Why are you so happy?’
The man replied, ‘Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant. My family and I don’t need too much – just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies and your blessings.’
The king sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the story, the advisor said, ‘Your Majesty, the servant has not yet joined “The 99 Club”.’
‘The 99 Club? And what is that?’ the King inquired.
The advisor replied, ‘To truly know what The 99 Club is, just place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant’s doorstep.’
When the servant saw the bag, he let out a great shout of joy…so many gold coins. He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were only 99 coins. He wondered, ‘What could’ve happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!’
He looked everywhere, but that final coin was elusive. Finally he decided that he was going to work harder than ever to earn that 100th gold coin.
From that day, the servant was a changed man. He was overworked, grumpy, and blamed his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. And he had stopped singing while he worked.
Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. The advisor said, ‘Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club.’
He continued, ‘The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never content, because they’re always wanting that extra 1, saying to themselves: “Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life.”
We can be happy with very little in our lives, but the minute we’re given something bigger and better, we want more…and even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, as the price for our growing needs and desires.
That’s “The 99 Club“…Zero Membership fee to enter, but you pay for it with your entire life !!!
Here are a few more (read my previous post on Bucket List here) experiences to add to your bucket list. Pick the ones that excite you –
1. Float in the Dead Sea
2. Sky Diving
3. Bungee Jumping
4. Visit the Nalanda University
5. Whitewater Rafting
6. Visit the Ram Setu
7. See the floating stones in Rameshwaram
8. Take a yatch ride in Dubai Creek
9. Walk on the Great Wall of China
10. Visit the Taj Mahal
11. Click the iconic pic in Maladives
12. Hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia
13. Take the Maid of the Mist ride at Niagara Falls
14. Watch the change of Guard @ Indo-Pak border
15. Try pushing the Krishna’s butter ball at Mahabalipuram
16. Walk thru the clouds at Cherrapunji
17. Smell the tulips in Kashmir
18. Snorkelling
19. Watch Coral Reefs
20. Walk the Strip, Las Vegas
21. Visit the Kumbh Mela
22. Trek to the Manasarovar
23. Watch the Kanchenjunga turn golden at Sunrise
24. Experience the luxury of a Cruise
25. Travel in a Limosine
26. Drive a Ferrari
27. Desert Safari
28. Visit the Chilka Lake
Do you have any other interesting ones to share?
I came across this poem by Kahlil Gibran on one of the social media posts and found it so very apt and timeless that I felt like sharing this with all via my Blog. When you read it, do so slowly and it will surely make you ponder and may be you will feel like reading it again and sharing it with your dear ones too. So reproducing the poem below.
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
There was a farmer who used to sell a pound of butter to the baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting a pound and he found that he was not. This angered him and he took the farmer to court.
The judge asked the farmer if he was using any measure. The farmer replied, “Your Honor, I am primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.”
The judge asked, “Then how do you weigh the butter?”
The farmer replied “Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker.”
So what do we learn from this story?
We get back in life what we give to others. This is the principle of Karma.
Whenever you take an action, ask yourself this question: Am I giving a fair value for the wages or money I hope to make?
Honesty and dishonesty become a habit.
Some people practice dishonesty and can lie with a straight face. Others lie so much that they don’t even know what the truth is anymore.
But who are they deceiving? Themselves!
You might have heard “Play to your strengths” pretty often – from self-help books to various motivational speeches to the pep talk given by senior leadership. In fact the phrase has been overused so much that we actually ignore the importance it carries. My humble attempt via this post is to help you understand what it really means and how to actually leverage it for your own success.
Most often we take our strengths for granted and lay a great emphasis on improving our weak areas. While it is not incorrect to try and improve the weak areas however by focusing only on the areas of improvement you are playing on back foot. This also lowers your confidence and puts you on a trajectory where you are feeding a lot of negatives to your mind.
Instead what one should actually do is to focus on your strengths – understand them and leverage them to the best possible extent. By focusing on your strengths you are focusing on positivity and it directly boosts your self-confidence. When you operate from a strength mindset, it is more easier to take steps to overcome your weak areas too.
So do spend some time and identify your strength areas – get help from friends or mentors or take some of the personality tests to identify them. Once you know them, dwell on them and learn to use them for your success.
Not only does India need more of such mother-in-laws who are more accepting of their daughter-in-laws and more understanding but also they need to remember their journey and ensure that the new bride does not go through the same struggles that she had to.
A mother writes a heartfelt letter to her son, on why he should laugh at his wife’s shapeless rotis. And in the process shares some valuable lessons and insights for all couples and in-laws.
Dear Son,
Hope this letter finds you in the best of spirits and health.
You might be surprised to find an email from your mom. Something told me to write to you; that you need to hear from me today.
It was indeed one of the best evenings that your father and I spent when you visited us with your new wife yesterday. Rest assured, we liked her immensely. I could see that both of you are very much in love and that makes me happy. May your love grow every moment!
Now let me get to the reason for writing this letter. I don’t know whether you remember, but during dinner, you cracked a joke about the shapeless rotis that Lavanya makes. We all laughed and your father laughed the loudest. There were tears of laughter in your father’s eyes and there were tears in your wife’s eyes too. I can assure you that her tears were not of mirth; they were tears of mortification, of shame brought about by the innocuous joke that you cracked.
I guess that joke was the reason why we heard raised voices coming from your room yesterday night and the reason why Lavanya appeared puffy eyed in the morning. Maybe she cried all night.
Son, I want to tell you something. I love shapeless rotis. They bring back many fond memories. They remind me of the shapeless rotis made by my father on certain Saturday mornings when my mother had extra duty at her office. They often lacked salt, were hard like rock and were shaped like various continents. But his love for us compensated for all that it lacked.
Shapeless rotis also bring memories of those days when your father turned into my cook. It was during those early days of pregnancy while I was carrying you. I couldn’t bear the smell of spices or rice or anything cooking. Your father would churn out shapeless rotis and experimental curries, which tasted quite good because he wanted to provide home cooked food for his wife and unborn child. His care and affection made those rotis priceless.
Do you remember how you used to insist on helping me while I prepared rotis when you were around four years old? You would play with the dough and create various shapes that you wanted to be cooked and served to all. I can tell you, those were the tastiest rotis that I ever ate.
Words can create a world full of love. Yet, a thoughtless word is enough to destroy that world.
Lavanya and you are equally qualified; you both earn equally well too. You have both spent an equal number of years educating yourself to be the professionals that you are. But you expect Lavanya to become the perfect cook and home-maker from the moment you married her! How unreasonable is that?
Rahul, no new wife wants to be ridiculed in front of her in-laws. Trust me, I can tell you that. Been there, done that. She craves to be loved by them and she expects her husband’s support in her effort at endearing herself to them.
Teething troubles in marriages are often capable of draining out the love you have for each other. Be there for her while she adapts herself to your world. A small token of appreciation and open support is all that she will need.
You are my beloved son and I know you have learned to see the brighter side of things. Value love more than any other thing because son, perfectly round rotis are often machine made. They lack the most essential ingredient; Love.
Wishing you a world of love,
Yours loving mother
Read these often for affirmation and for reminding yourself of your commitment towards self-transformation.
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