LIFE MUDRAS

On a flight recently,  I noticed a young girl of seven request the stewardess for an orange juice. The stewardess was probably over-worked and responded quite curtly with ‘I will come by later if I remember’.  The young girl smiled and got up to follow her to the galley. I noticed that she came back after a short while with a glass of orange juice.  As she was seated by the aisle next to me, I struck up a conversation with her. I asked her what she did when she went to the galley! She said she offered to help the stewardess if she had too much work. The stewardess apparently hugged her and appreciated her offer and gave her the orange juice. So, I asked her why she did that. Her response was absolutely magical! She said, my mum always tells me that when people are upset, it has more to do with them having to carry the world on their shoulders. During these moments, she says, I should help offload the world from their shoulders.  I wish I had had her wisdom ...

On a cold December Monday night the telephone rang. It was a call from his mother. He answered it and his mother told him, "Mr. Salaskar died last night. The funeral is on Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. "Arjun, did you hear me?" "Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Arjun said. "Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd remember the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him. "I loved that old house he lived in," Arjun said. "You know, Arjun, after your father died, Mr. Salaskar stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said. "He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I would...

What a gift it would be if we were able to drop all of our desires for perfection. And I’m not just talking about some of our desires for perfection—I mean all of them. The desire to look perfect; to have perfect grades/ outcomes/ performances; to be perceived as perfect by others; to have perfect answers to questions; to be the perfect mother/ father/ spouse/ sibling; to have the perfect circumstances; to live the perfect life… Why? Because every single one of these desires creates suffering. They create unattainable, unrealistic goals that lead to constant disappointment, self-judgement, and less acceptance of your self and others. And in this world—in this reality—there is no such thing as perfect. Perfection is the standard that will drive you mad in its pursuit. Trying to look perfect is the standard that takes positive intentions from being constructive to being extreme and destructive. “Healthy eating” escalates into extreme dieting and/or fasting. “Workin...

Your Life Task is your career/ your creative work/ your mission/ etc., that puts to use your strengths and aptitudes and brings to life your unique visions and goals for the world. Along the way, there are going to be times when you feel incredibly rewarded and times when the journey is going to absolutely suck. The ebb and flow of any long-term pursuit is inevitable and unpredictable and it’s important that we brace ourselves for the days that we know are coming. There will be victories along the way that will be worth celebrating and there will be failures, setbacks, struggles, challenges, and hard times that are going to require grit, focus, and a game plan. Being mindful is the key practice that will guide us along the way. With mindfulness, we can identify moments of frustration as opportunities for growth; moments of criticism as opportunities for skin-thickening; moments of laziness as excuses — and in each of these situations, find creative ways to get back t...

🌸 This message has been shared by a dear friend Mr. Manohar Nayak. Posting here as loved the view point. My favorite colors are: black, jet black, pitch black, pastel black, light black, faded black. I love black. When they show me a white, I say "very nice, but does it come in black?". I am addicted to black. I own too much black. Simply because black is such a happy color! This message shows you the whitest of whites: *Black.*   || you can't block black || || black says: 'i don't bother you, you don't bother me' || || classy is the original black; and black is the new black || || black is modest and coolest, yet aggressive; black is lazy and easy, yet mysterious || || black is not sad, black is poetic; black is not empty, black is ever filled || || to me, a black cat crossing my path signifies that the animal is going somewhere || || blacklist, blackmail, blackout, black humor, black death, black hole, black magic.. are all white lies || || i will s...

🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂 🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂 🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂 🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿🍂🌿 IT IS JUST "LABOR OF LOVE" FOR PARENTS B I R T H D A Y S, to my mind, are best celebrated with those who have brought you to this world; your parents. They think the world of you and the occasion has great significance for them. I say this from personal experience; I feel the world when it comes to the birthdays of my children. And the chain continues... I remember my parents this day with gratitude for all their love, care and the hard work in bringing me up and making me what I am. I owe my whole existence to them. On my birthday, today, I bow my head in reverence and gratitude to the memory of my parents.

Being in a meaningful relationship is something we all long for. I think we all want that special somebody who can appreciate us for who we are—not how we look; somebody that makes us laugh and comforts us when we cry; somebody who appreciates our quirks and loves our imperfections; somebody who treats us the same whether we’re at our best or at our worst; somebody that gets us excited and somebody we find ourselves naturally drawn to; somebody that doesn’t hold us back but gets us to where we want to be quicker; somebody that we would call our best friend and lover. Yeah, that person. But I also think that there is far too much pressure to get into a relationship far too fast. Like being single is a bad thing? …It becomes an obsession for way too many people way too early in their lives – as if you get bonus points for getting in a relationship as early in your life as possible! My question is this: What should we really be obsessing overlooking at the grand scheme of things: Getting ...