On this day exactly 24 years ago, I was born. It’s been an awesome journey on this planet since then. I would like to take this opportunity to share 24 things that have shaped me during this journey.
I have read many books, watched tons of videos and heard many well-known speakers during the past few years. However, what I am going to share is what I have ‘EXPERIENCED’ and not what I have ‘KNOWN’. There is a very big difference between that. When I read a book and learn an idea, I can say that I know about it but when I actually experience that thing in my own life I can actually understand what it means.
I’ll be sharing the wisdom that I have gained through living my life and not the knowledge I have gathered from outside resources.
So, here it goes……
1.Since I was a kid I had this weird question in my mind after I saw a few deaths around in the family, “What will happen to my compass box after I die? My toys, my friends, my family? Won’t I ever get to meet them again or see them again?” Unaware of where this question would take me, I kept on asking myself these questions. Surprisingly, they drove me in the direction of understanding that everything you have is ‘impermanent’. I experienced this through the practice of Vipassana after growing up. However, the roots of this realization were planted in my mind since I was a kid. Every THING & RELATION you have are never going to stay with you forever, they all are temporary. Some might last longer and some might end soon. Nothing is going to remain forever.
2. We normally get angry, irritated, frustrated with our parents for the way they fail to understand us or deal with us. However, they are normal human beings, I stopped putting them on a pedestal of being the PERFECT HUMAN beings who understand everything. Giving them the space to make mistakes is the best way to ease your relationship with your oldies, I mean parents! 🙂 On the other hand, it does not mean that you do everything they say. It might happen that you might not want for yourself what they want for you. It is perfectly okay to disagree in some aspects with their opinions without disrespecting them.
3. Compassion should be at the base of every communication you make. Most of the time, we feel we are trying to help others and be nice to them but at the base lies the ‘EGO’ of feeling good or being ‘the right one’ or maybe feeling superior. Identifying the part of my communication that stems from ego and replacing it with compassion was one of the biggest parts of my evolution.
4. It is okay if somebody broke your heart, breakups are okay! The world is not going to end. You can handle it, that is why you have been kept in this situation. 🙂
5. You cannot evolve, without ACCEPTING. Acceptance is nothing but being able to accept the EXISTENCE of the situation or the person that you are with. Most of our energy is wasted in denying the existence in the situation.
6. Rejected love is not a failure, unexpressed love is.
7. It is very easy to say that, “This happened because of you” or “You are the person responsible for this” rather than seeing “I will see how I can make things better by improving my inputs”. Blaming is the easiest thing to do & taking responsibility is the toughest part.
8. Listen to your inner voice. Be yourself even if everybody else is uncomfortable. There was a time when I used to agree to what others said and believed the way they did. Once, I started deviating from the “norms”, people got uncomfortable, some even tried to force me to get back on track and live a life that agreed to their norms. However, I was too stubborn to have deviated from my inner voice. 🙂
9. Unconditional love means overflowing yourself with love so that it spills around all over. If you keep pouring from your cup, you will burn out soon. Fill yourself first and then let it overflow. Loving yourself unconditionally comes before you step into the kingdom of unconditionally loving others.
10. An I-phone or a branded garment or a prestigious degree or a perfect boyfriend/girlfriend or a fancy trip won’t give you happiness. Keeping anything, person or a situation at the base of my happiness was the biggest stupidity I had made. You’ve got to “BE HAPPY”. It’s an inside job.
11. Pain comes to teach something. I have never seen anything more beautiful than darkness and pain. Those were the best moments of my life when I was in pain. Those were the moments that made me go deeper and understand myself & life in a better way. Grateful for that.
12. How I talk to myself inside my head is the most important factor in deciding how I am going to feel for the rest of my life. It is very important to keep a track of that voice and make it compassionate, joyful & encouraging.
13. The relationships that we hold with the people who live with us matters a lot. If you are not at peace with those relations, any problem in those will directly affect all the other aspects of life. Keep transparency, respect their boundaries and communicate EVERYTHING. You will have to make efforts to make a relationship work, it won’t happen by itself.
14. Animals are the best ones to hang out with when you want to experience how love feels. Especially dogs! 🙂
15. Spending a few minutes daily outside amidst nature is a must to live a healthy life. Hug a tree, touch the earth barefoot, smell a flower, sleep on the grass, bow down to the sun, romance with the moon, twinkle with the stars at the night on the terrace or play with the squirrels & dogs. There are many ways to be with nature, JUST DO IT & experience the magic! Nature is the BESTEST HEALER.
16. Have at least one person in your life in front of whom you can be your true self. Where you can speak what you feel and what’s inside you, no matter how dark it is. Having such a person has helped me a lot in dealing with those aspects of myself which I could not accept.
17. What you do in the morning creates a lot of impact on how you feel throughout the day. Having a good morning routine is a must if you want to feel good throughout the day. Starting it with Gratitude, Meditation & Physical exercise is the way I do it.
18. Get into a relationship when you have sorted yourself out and found somebody with whom you feel comfortable sharing the journey. It’s okay to not walk according to the timeline set by the society. The burden of failed or unsatisfying relationship is much more than spending a few years alone, healing and aligning yourself.
19. Mistakes are not CRIME. Wrong job, wrong partner, wrong career…everything is fine, provided you don’t make the same mistake again. Always learn from your mistakes and improve yourself.
20. MONEY IS NOT the root cause of all evil. Human beings’ INTENTIONS are. Money magnifies your inner self. Instead of blaming money, I should work in making my inner self pure.
21. Money is means, not the end. Don’t put your health, happiness, family, dreams and everything else at stake to make a hefty amount of money. Moreover, it is very important how I EARN & SPEND my money.
22. The food I consume creates a lot of impacts not only on my body but also on my mind, emotions, and energies. I am learning to consume consciously. The body always tells us what nurtures it and what deteriorates it, we just need to learn to LISTEN.
23. Freedom has nothing to do with your surroundings. It is an inner state. Holding others responsible for not letting you be free is the biggest thing we tell to fool ourselves.
24. There is much more lightness in accepting your flaws and mistakes instead of covering it up and pretending to be right & perfect all the time. I try to reject every urge my ego makes to act as if “I KNOW EVERYTHING” & let my soul take over so that I can grow. There is much more comfort in ‘being my imperfect self’ rather than ‘pretending to be perfect’. There is nothing more beautiful than a raw human being expressing imperfections in a perfect way! 🙂
These are just the truths of MY LIFE drawn out of the experiences that I have been through. Share it, if you can relate to any of them. That would, in fact, be the best birthday gift for me! 😀
Sending lots of love and positivity your way! 🙂
MAY GOD BLESS YOU! ♥
