Arjun Singh Rathore
Still we are not fully out of the pandemic of COVID, the scientists have not ruled out the reoccurrence of virus in a new variant, and Life is filled with uncertainty and worries about the future. Between the COVID when the whole world came to a silent stand still and we while confined to house arrests during lockdowns, the perception of loving and caring among the family was being generated, but a slight relaxation and we were again in the hot chase of uncertainty all around us. While many things remain outside our control, our mind-set is key to coping with difficult circumstances and confidently facing the unknown. Yet as human beings, we crave security. We want to feel safe and have a sense of control over our lives and well-being. Fear and uncertainty can leave us feeling stressed, anxious, and powerless over the direction of our life. It can drain us emotionally and trap in a downward spiral of endless “what-ifs” and worst-case scenarios about what tomorrow may bring.
Last year, I found myself in one of the worst ruts. After spinning my wheels for quite some time, I realized my so-called attempts at improving my circumstances were a farce, I was just exhausting my energy waiting for a saviour to come to my rescue. And finally, when that saviour never came, I snapped out of it and acknowledged I don’t live in some fantasy novel, and can’t invoke, by sheer will, a knight in shining armour. As Alice Sebold wrote in her memoir, Lucky, “You save yourself or you remain unsaved,” and this thought inspired me to love my life.
Life is monotonous. Our routines are often the same day-to-day. It’s hard to feel excited about life when it feels like we are running on a treadmill. While routine does help us to be productive, it’s nice to change it up from time-to-time. It’s important to remind ourselves to have fun.
I love consistency in routine, and I do find myself itching to do something different and exciting. I was fortunate in my earlier years to have the opportunity to pack my bags and head to live a handful of times. But things changed with the sudden loss of parents and un-comfortability in career progression. Life fell very much into a rather rigid routine. But despite of my commitments and obligations, I broke out of the mundanities of everyday life and once again successfully tried to fell in love with my life.
Sometimes it takes a literal change in perspective to change our mental perspective. One fine evening when my car was not with me, I decided to walk home instead of commuting by the office bus. Monsoon was at its peak and it was raining outside, and the walk was at least a couple of miles, but I had nowhere to be. Some of the roads I took were roads I had never taken before and all of them were new to me that day.
When I first moved to my new place, I walked everywhere, and everything was magical because it was new and special and offered up so much possibility. After being here for now almost a year, the novelty had worn off and it is familiar and the magic and possibility I felt a year back seemed to have worn off with it.
This walk brought me back to the basics and opened my heart back up to the magic. Although I have moved to a new place, a place that would also inevitably become home and lose its magic if I let it. I just had to change my perspective.
When we get bored or restless, we don’t necessarily have to move on. By taking the long way to my flat, I fell in love with the town, and by changing my physical perspective, I was able to see all of the possibilities that could be explored.
I highly encourage movement to be a part of our daily life. Like anyone else, I can and will find excuses not to get outdoors, but when I do, I feel recharged, centred, and empowered. Movement does this faster and better than anything else I have found.
There is a funny saying that if we stand on our head for a few minutes every day, we will change our perspective. I think this goes with movement, too. When we shift our focus through movement, we start to see things a little differently, and the possibilities open up again.
There is nothing wrong with relating to people venting every now and again, but it’s also important to surround yourself with people and conversations that leverage enthusiasm, excitement, and satisfaction. While spending time with one of my co-workers, fighting her lonely battle with a non-curable disease helped me to build up, see and encourage my strengths, and helped me living authentically.
Energy is contagious, and if we are around positive energy and speaking with others in terms of positivity, we will begin to restructure our thinking, and, ultimately, the way we see and experience the world around us.
Learning something new can be enough to elevate and enrich our lives. A happy life and healthy mind involves continuous learning throughout life, and being creative. We can also learn a great deal by simply picking up a book and reading, and thanks to internet getting a book of our choice is now just one click away. No need to wander through a library. Pick up those titles that speak to you and allow yourself to explore. I preferred reading editorials from the newspapers. I swear reading is such a beautiful experience that encouraged me to enter the world of imagination of another.
Since most of our day is based on routine, why not make them as beautiful as possible by celebrating them in small ways, or slowing down to notice calmness in our minds, and remind us that there is a much larger world outside of the little bubble we often keep ourselves in.
I preferred to cook my meal on weekends, despite of having a maid to do the same. Making my morning tea and enjoying it sitting on the window of my 9th floor in my own company is a different experience which I didn’t have in the past. Buying my groceries at a market, noticing how fresh the vegies and the non-veg produce is always refreshing and satisfying.
Sometimes something as simple as changing our living place and freshening up a corner, lift our spirits. Shuffling a piece of furniture or a few decorative items around has always been my pastime. In the absence of my gardening hobby I preferred to seek out little indoor plants to liven up a corner.
When we are time-poor, it’s not unusual to let our appearance slide. I rediscovered to put extra care into my appearances, with what I wear day-to-day, it feels like a boost to my self-esteem and confidence. At the same time when we nourish our bodies and exercise, we feel better within. So wake up half an hour earlier and go for a morning walk.
Work to live or live to work that is a question many of us ask ourselves. While I do believe that much of life and joy happens outside of work, a great deal of our life is also about work. So why not try to enjoy it?
Laughter is good for our health. It lifts our mood, triggering a release of endorphins, relaxes our body, decreasing stress hormones, and generally adds joy and zest to life.
Too often we stop ourselves from dreaming and fantasising about the future for fear of disappointment. Yes, life doesn’t always deliver what we hope and we must understand this. But to progress and have goals, we first need to dream and imagine what could be. When we dream we learn about what we truly value in life.
We are all different in how much uncertainty we can tolerate in life. Some people seem to enjoy taking risks and living unpredictable lives, while others find the randomness of life deeply distressing. But all of us have a limit. If we feel overwhelmed by uncertainty and worry, it’s important to know that we are not alone; many of us are in the same boat. It’s also important to realize that no matter how helpless and hopeless we feel, there are steps we can take to Love You Zindagi.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
