Life, in the blink of an eye!

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“Life is like riding a bicycle”.

Albert Einstein wrote in a letter to his son Eduard.

Balancing work, family, and leisure time can lead to a more harmonious existence.

One should maintain balance. To achieve it, we must be willing to adapt to new circumstances and embrace change.

But, that doesn’t happen too often. Life poses many challenges.

We grow old and lose a loved one. We get fired, get separated, meet with an accident or suffer an unexpected financial loss — any of these can happen when you least expect it.

A loss in life puts us down. But we should learn to move on with the same vigour rather than continue to suffer in pain.

Patience is what we should keep when overcoming challenges.

We all know how COVID-19 hit us all unaware. The pandemic showed how life is impermanent.

We suffered huge losses. Events were postponed, our travel plans cancelled, the economy tanked, many lost jobs, and uncertainty reigned supreme.

Buddha taught Four Noble Truths.

They can be more simply put as:

1) suffering exists.

2) suffering has a cause;

3) suffering has an end;

4) and suffering has a cause to bring about its end.

Buddhism and Hinduism share the doctrine that says “nothing lasts, everything is in a constant state of change”.

Even Taoism and Sufism teach the same thing.

We can’t take our bodies with us and accepting the impermanence of all things brings us closer to our divine nature.

The impermanence of life refers to the ever-changing nature and eventual perishing of all things in our universe. Plants die. People die. The universe keeps disappearing into eternity.

Everything ends.

Our life is recycled into the universe. All stars burn out. The universe will one day fold up, come to a close, so nothing, regardless of how big or small, can escape an ending.

You don’t have much of a choice. There’s no pause button in life.

‘This should also pass’ – should be one’s motto in life.

You’re here for a moment, so you might as well enjoy the blink of an eye that you’re here.

And remember what Jim Rohn said, “You cannot change the destination of your life overnight, but you can change your direction”.

A Character in Wild-pants!

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When we were five, we were mostly dreamers. A dreamer with eyes wide open. A dreamer deep asleep.

I was too young to think of what I would become as I was told a lot of stories about animals and characters in cartoons. I lived purely in an imaginary world. A fairy tale life, to be precise.

I enjoyed listening to those stories and I imagined I would one day go meet them really and want to spend time with them.

Some stories wouldn’t end well as characters were chased and put to death. That gave me nightmares.

I remember I asked my parents one day if I could stop people killing animals. My parents told me that I should then become a forest officer, wear a uniform, carry a gun and travel in an open jeep. All day and night. A life in the wilderness.

That’s when I imagined I would be an officer who was out and about helping save the animals.

That gave me pleasure. I thought I would bring those animals home, live with them in the comfort of my parents, brothers and sister.

A happy cartoon family was what I wanted.

Touchwood, Yes!

Are you superstitious?

India is home to many superstitious beliefs. And the beliefs have been passed through generations.

People often visit temples for a pass in an examination, a job in the government and to find a perfect match for a hand in marriage.

And the god(s) don’t disappoint us. He will bless the newly married with children and give the elderly a cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

We allow numerology a big say. We add alphabets liberally in names and call our children ‘Praggyaananndhaa’ and ‘Nitthiyaananndhaa’. All in the name of bringing luck!

We bang utensils, light lamps and sing prayers to ward off a killer epidemic as deadly as COVID-19.

Many in Mumbai took a day off from work when word spread in 1995 that one of our Hindu gods drank milk. I carried a can of milk and stood in a mile-long queue.

As COVID-19 was sweeping the country, a baba announced that he had found medicine to cure corona. The ministers and the officials jumped with joy. They called the PRESS to announce the new discovery. All in a day.

Tying threads, wearing an amulet, rings on all fingers, sporting a beard and consulting an astrologer for as noble a mission as winning in cricket are part of one’s growing up here.

We don’t visit a hairdresser on Tuesdays, nor do we eat during the Lunar Eclipse, sorry!

Jet-fighters, Rafael, from France, were put to a tough test as officials placed lemons under the tires of the flying-machine and rolled.

No menstruating girls can enter inside the temples as our ancestors believed the act would bring evil-spells.

And we believe man goes through seven births in life, before his soul gets fully liberated. You don’t live just once in this part of the Earth.

Bless me, please. I just sneezed.

Thank you.