What really makes for a life well lived...
Is it the love you give or the love you receive? Is it the things you can buy or give away or the knowledge that all things are momentary and they, too shall pass?
Or is it the relationships you build, and peace you spread?
It is, may be, a little of all these and then some more.
A life well lived is one that is full of love- that you give and you receive. It is a life that scatters for all around you to gather. It is not in acquisitions but in give always that one finds more satisfaction. And always, the finest and most memorable moments are not ones we have spent alone but ones we have shared with others.
Our remembrances and memories are mostly of times spent with and for our loved ones. The more we spread love, the more happiness we have in our own life. Some professions allow us to experience this happiness and joy more easily. Teachers, doctors... Fortunate are those who can find their calling in professions that allow us to make a difference to lives we touch. And we MUST be grateful for that opportunity as well as be able to do what fate and fortune allow us to.
A life well lived would be one lived in the NOW, in the present moment, being fully committed to fulfilling each role to its fullest.
A mother who is not committed to mothering and a teacher not committed to teaching, a father not committed to fathering and a soldier not committed to soldiering are all not living a life of significance. They are all wasting the moment. They are all wasting their life- their opportunity to live well.
We all have several roles to live and to fulfill, and each role we fail at is another step away from a life of significance. This failure is not a failure that generates a red mark for us. It is a failure that generates more work for the soul.
How many people would be affected and how deeply by your absence?
The world will still go on... But there will be some souls who will deeply miss those who make a difference...
It is this that defines a life of significance.
Showing posts with label living in the moment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living in the moment. Show all posts
What kind of a tree is victory?
Life in the city has become so noisy that it has drowned peace, silence and soul.
Waking up to an alarm that should be loud enough to bring us back from slumberland, we start our wakefulness with cacophony. Rushing through the morning ritual of getting the children and their tiffins ready for school makes time fly. Is there a way to slow it down? Recently we, my children and me, were going through a routine morning when we started discussing phonics. My four year old is showing interest in books and wants to put sounds together. He mentioned enthusiastically that ,"it is W for victory!" Was it Chak De? Where had he heard the word? When English wants to denote w and v, both, to say the same sound, can you flaw the thinking of a small child?
I explained, " No, bitta, it is V for victory and w for watch. It is getting to be seven. Now let us get ready." I was there with him... but not quite. I wanted to pull him into the race against time. School gates will close. We have to get there in time, etc. etc.
He, then said something which stopped me dead in my tracks. "Mama," he asked innocently after pondering for a few seconds, " What kind of a tree is vicTREE?" The emphasis is the way HE said it. Four year old. What kind of a tree is victory? He waited. He knew I would answer. No matter what I am doing or how much in a hurry- if my children ask- they recieve an answer. Even if it is sometimes just to acknowledge the question. I thought. What should I tell him?
"Victory, Moksh, is winning..."? Na! Boring. Where is the imagination? Where is the playfulness? Where is the spark to start a fire? To set him thinking and wanting to learn more? I smiled," Moksh, that is a wonderful question! ( that gave me a few seconds to put my thoughts together) Victory is the tree everyone wants to climb. This tree gives a fruit people find sweeter and more delicious than the mango," I replied earnestly. Then I rounded it off with the unimaginative- "Victory is winning".
Within a few seconds a four year old had managed to slow down time. He made us pause and think. He brought us back to now- rather than just running to catch the next moment. Never really managing it because each moment leads to another one which then needs to be caught. Why can we not learn from the children? Why can we not be simple-hearted and live NOW? I could honestly not read beyond the first few pages of Eckhart's Now. This may be a politically suicidal statement. But- I could not. I do not even remember the few pages I did manage to read. My son brought the Now much more sharply into focus and made time stop.
Mornings used to be for gentle awakenings. For leisurely morning walks. For deep breaths and deeper prayers. Where did those mornings go? Those mornings when, during vacations, we woke up at midday and had lunch without thinking about breakfast are long gone. Now the children who are learning music or skating or have to leave for those tuitions or ... numerous other things... that they fill their time with. They are busy! Where is their childhood? Where are the pithhoo, the paalaa, the staappoo and the kho- kho? And would you allow your child to play Hide and seek in the public park? Did we ever think somebody could kidnap us? Were all strangers monstors? Where have we arrived? Is this the price we pay for progress? Is this progress?
As a parent and a well-meaning adult, I want to make this locality, this city, this country, this world a safer place for children. I want to make it safe for children to run a sweat playing in the park once again. I want the children to enjoy a picnic in open and safe spaces. I want them to laugh freely, to raise their heads in wonder and see how beautiful the world really is. I want to make it beautiful.
Are there others who think like me? I am sure there are. This posting may just start a movement. I hope it does. I pray it does.
Here's to living in the present moment- happily, safely, with eyes full of wonder and soul full of curiosity.
Waking up to an alarm that should be loud enough to bring us back from slumberland, we start our wakefulness with cacophony. Rushing through the morning ritual of getting the children and their tiffins ready for school makes time fly. Is there a way to slow it down? Recently we, my children and me, were going through a routine morning when we started discussing phonics. My four year old is showing interest in books and wants to put sounds together. He mentioned enthusiastically that ,"it is W for victory!" Was it Chak De? Where had he heard the word? When English wants to denote w and v, both, to say the same sound, can you flaw the thinking of a small child?
I explained, " No, bitta, it is V for victory and w for watch. It is getting to be seven. Now let us get ready." I was there with him... but not quite. I wanted to pull him into the race against time. School gates will close. We have to get there in time, etc. etc.
He, then said something which stopped me dead in my tracks. "Mama," he asked innocently after pondering for a few seconds, " What kind of a tree is vicTREE?" The emphasis is the way HE said it. Four year old. What kind of a tree is victory? He waited. He knew I would answer. No matter what I am doing or how much in a hurry- if my children ask- they recieve an answer. Even if it is sometimes just to acknowledge the question. I thought. What should I tell him?
"Victory, Moksh, is winning..."? Na! Boring. Where is the imagination? Where is the playfulness? Where is the spark to start a fire? To set him thinking and wanting to learn more? I smiled," Moksh, that is a wonderful question! ( that gave me a few seconds to put my thoughts together) Victory is the tree everyone wants to climb. This tree gives a fruit people find sweeter and more delicious than the mango," I replied earnestly. Then I rounded it off with the unimaginative- "Victory is winning".
Within a few seconds a four year old had managed to slow down time. He made us pause and think. He brought us back to now- rather than just running to catch the next moment. Never really managing it because each moment leads to another one which then needs to be caught. Why can we not learn from the children? Why can we not be simple-hearted and live NOW? I could honestly not read beyond the first few pages of Eckhart's Now. This may be a politically suicidal statement. But- I could not. I do not even remember the few pages I did manage to read. My son brought the Now much more sharply into focus and made time stop.
Mornings used to be for gentle awakenings. For leisurely morning walks. For deep breaths and deeper prayers. Where did those mornings go? Those mornings when, during vacations, we woke up at midday and had lunch without thinking about breakfast are long gone. Now the children who are learning music or skating or have to leave for those tuitions or ... numerous other things... that they fill their time with. They are busy! Where is their childhood? Where are the pithhoo, the paalaa, the staappoo and the kho- kho? And would you allow your child to play Hide and seek in the public park? Did we ever think somebody could kidnap us? Were all strangers monstors? Where have we arrived? Is this the price we pay for progress? Is this progress?
As a parent and a well-meaning adult, I want to make this locality, this city, this country, this world a safer place for children. I want to make it safe for children to run a sweat playing in the park once again. I want the children to enjoy a picnic in open and safe spaces. I want them to laugh freely, to raise their heads in wonder and see how beautiful the world really is. I want to make it beautiful.
Are there others who think like me? I am sure there are. This posting may just start a movement. I hope it does. I pray it does.
Here's to living in the present moment- happily, safely, with eyes full of wonder and soul full of curiosity.
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