Do we celebrate the peaks or the flatlands of our lives?

Marking personal milestones of our lives is important because it ushers in happiness and makes us feel proud of our accomplishments.We need to share these moments with friends, family and wellwishers because happiness when shared gets multiplied.However, the emphasis should be on marking these events than on what we do and how we do it. One can choose to light a candle and say a prayer,go out for a celebratory dinner, spend quality time with the family, go on a vacation, donate for a cause or go whole hog and throw a statemant making party reflecting your style and financial status.Whatever we choose to do we need to remember that even though these are important peaks of our lives we will be remembered not for these but the integrity and the attitude that we have maintained on a daily basis in our lives.Its the daily rigour of traversing the flatlands of our lives which in reality is the determinant of the success our life is rather than the the few and far between high points.

Who are we ?

We witness various types of energies like gravitational,kinetic,heat, electrical,nuclear,solar etc and their change into other forms daily in our lives.The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed though it can move around and change form.As I read this basic law of physics there is a moment of incredulous wonder and spiritual insight. The same words seem to be used to define our SOUL -- something that doesn't take birth or die.It is eternal and changes form in the shape of a new body with rebirth.For a moment let this sink in and you'll agree that that there is enough scientific fact staring in our faces that we are Energy Beings.And like all energy forces having an electromagnetic field we too have a field of electromagnetic vibrations or waves which interact with the universal web of energy.So we are vibrating masses of energy capable of interacting, influencing and determining the the quality of energy manifesting in our lives.

Is this world truly an illusion or Maya as The Gita states?

One often wonders what the world being an illusion means and the rational mind seeks a scientific explanation for these eternal truths.Illusion or maya means something that is not what it seems to be or deception.Now, if we look at our world everything from plant, animal, rock, wood, metal to humans is nothing but atoms of various elements arranged in different combinations. Water is two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen and carbon dioxide is one atom of carbon and two of oxygen. Similarly, every substance is a combination of different atoms. If we enlarge an atom to the size of a room then the nucleus is nothing but a speck barely seen by the naked eye. The rest of the space in the atom is empty except for the subatomic particles electrons revolving around the nucleus.So, at the atomic level everything in our world seems to be vast empty space with energy (as the basis of interaction between atoms is electrical energy) and has no defined concept of physicality or form. Therefore, a table is not really a table if we take it apart to the subatomic state and the same holds true for us humans and other things.Then doesn't the statement that this word is an illusion stand true?

How should we celebrate?

Celebration is not only a form of self expression of personal happiness but unfortunately has become a social statement.At the risk of sounding like a party pooper, I feel celebration has become tedious affair of fulfilling and meeting a myriad of social expectations.Yes, we need to celebrate minor and major events of life but in todays consumerist, personality driven, status conscious society celebrating occasions has become a gargantuan display of wealth and one upmanship. People forget that that the ability to be able to afford a certain level of luxurious entertainment doesn't necessarily mean one has to indulge in it to the fullest possible extent and then also subject others to that.They don't realise that this sets unconscious social guidelines of aspirations which others might not be interested in following or be able to afford, but buckle down under societal pressure.Also there are some who might start thinking that this is the way things should be done and follow blindly irrespective of the affordability factor.Why can't celebrations be quite personal moments of joy shared with dear ones instead of a carnival of hundreds of acquaintances, friends and relatives?We need to step up as individuals with courage to go against the tide and re- establish less ostentatious and more meaningful ways of celebrating.

APPRECIATION

The way
you make me feel
when you walk into the room
reflects why
I treasure my life with you.


The confidence
that you have in me
to attempt the impossible
reflects why
I treasure my life with you.


The little things
you do to make me feel cherished
reflects why
I treasure my life with you.


The understanding
that you give more than you seek
reflects why
I treasure my life with you.



ANJALI KUMAR

How do we do personal innovation?

Once our formal education is over few of us persevere with a passion to continue to educate and improve ourselves.Over the years we settle ourselves in a safe and predictable rhythm of life neglecting to stretch the limits of our intellectual and experiential capacity.This stifling of our natural instinct for change breeds symptoms of boredom,apathy and intellectual dwarfism pushing us to indulge in constant pleasure seeking gratification than personal growth.We need to prevent this atrophy of the mind and paralysis of personal development.The only way to get out of this quagmire of ignorance and inaction is to push ourselves to bring about changes and explore new ideas by attempting new things and doing old things differently,in short,we need to innovate in our lives.The first step to personal innovation is to deconstruct ourselves completely so that we can rise above our self limiting perceptions.In other words get rid of the words "I cannot".For example, if you have a desire to become a landscaping artist(assuming you currently don't have any formal qualification) then get rid of all the self defeating doubts and convince yourself that you can do this.Ask yourself "What do I lose and what do I gain? You lose the fear of failure and gain the confident wisdom of experience. Second step is to let your imagination and enthusiasm break the barriers of knowledge and experience by asking "How do I do this?" For this train yourself to be acutely observant of all new developments not only in your field of interest but related fields also, read broadly to understand and evaluate the same and test yourself by getting new experiences.For a landscape artist that could translate as getting to know the latest techniques and applications, visiting unique locations displaying the same, arming oneself with a sound knowledge of landscaping material and greens, volunteering help where ever possible, joining specific organisations etc.The third step would be to ask "Who can help?" This is extremely important as we can do all the above and still not succeed if don't have people with the relevant knowledge,experience, shared enthusiasm and vision to guide us.Surround yourself with those who can motivate and challenge you.Going solo is never beneficial as none of us is perfect enough to possess all the qualities required to achieve success in our goals.Lastly, identify your accomplishments as a person on the basis of your courage to incorporate change in your life and who you evolve into.Revel in the metamorphosis.

REGRETS

The gaps
and
distances
in our relationship
is the pain
we have to face.

They inflict
an emptiness
we
cannot erase.

We change
for the worse
more guarded
and
insensitive
refusing to forgive
ourselves
and
others.


ANJALI KUMAR